Winter weather is always dangerous for people walking down the street, and this is especially true for those on the busy streets of New York City. If you do slip and fall on the sidewalk and get injured, however, you may wonder who you can hold to account. So that leaves the question of who exactly is responsible if you fall on a slippery sidewalk in New York City? Continue reading “Who is Responsible if You Fall on a Slippery Sidewalk in NYC?”
Tag: premises liability
Seven Ways to Avoid Slip and Fall Accidents on Your Property
If you are a property owner, either because you own a business or because you are a homeowner, you may be concerned about what happens if someone slips and falls on your property. Fortunately, there are steps you can take to minimize the risk of accidents and protect yourself from potential legal liability. Here are seven ways to protect yourself against the risk of slip and fall accidents on your property:
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Are You Liable if Someone Falls on a Sidewalk On Your Property?
It makes sense that people are responsible for what happens inside the buildings on their property. However, sometimes people are not specifically injured inside a building on a property, but instead hurt on the sidewalk surrounding the building. Are you, as a property owner, legally liable for someone who falls on a sidewalk on or around your property?
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Are You Liable For Someone Falling From a Ladder On Your Property?
One of the most basic tenets of personal injury law is that people are responsible for injuries that happen on their property, if those injuries are the result of their negligence. While this may seem simple in theory, in practice it can be difficult to determine who is at fault in certain accidents, such as when people fall from a ladder. But how do you determine if you are legally liable from someone falling from a ladder on your property?
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Five Security Failures That Make Crimes More Likely
Property owners have a duty to ensure their property has appropriate security for anyone inside or around their buildings. This duty extends to basic responsibilities like cleaning up spills and patching up holes in the floor, but also involves taking steps to protect against foreseeable criminal activity. Here are five ways property owners fail to secure their property, putting everyone in or around their building at risk of crime: Continue reading “Five Security Failures That Make Crimes More Likely”
Five Common Examples of Premises Liability
Premises liability is the basic idea that a property owner is responsible for keeping the conditions in and around their property safe. When they fail in this basic duty, it increases the likelihood of injury due to unsafe conditions. Here are five ways that property owners often fail to ensure their property is safe for people inside or around their buildings:
- Failure to clean up spills or debris
- One of the most obvious sources of potential harm from premises liability comes from spilled liquids and debris on the floor. This could include spilled food in a grocery store, a wet floor after rain or snow, or stray tools or parts left behind after construction. The law says that a property owner is responsible for ensuring these hazards are cleaned up, lest someone become injured from accidentally slipping or tripping and falling.
- Failure to fix broken or damaged floors
- It would seem to be common sense that a building owner would not want their buildings to be in poor repair, with broken or damaged floors or ceilings. And yet, a shocking number of premises liability cases come about from building owners who allow rotted floorboards, missing stairs, or other issues to go unaddressed. This failure to conduct basic maintenance substantially increases the chance of someone getting injured on the property.
- Failure to warn against dangerous conditions
- To be fair to property owners, it is not always practical to fix every problem right away. Many problems require getting a repairman of some type to come and fix the issue, and that means a potentially dangerous problem has to stay around until the issue can be fixed. However, a property owner still has a duty to warn of these dangerous problems, whether it is a slippery floor or dangling icicles. Failure to appropriately warn people of these hazards makes it more likely they will be hurt by them.
- Failure to provide adequate lighting
- In the modern day, lighting is something we often take for granted, with most people expecting they should be available wherever they walk. Not every property owner is so diligent about ensuring their property is well-lit, though, and that presents a number of potential dangers. Not only is it easier for someone to injure themselves in the dark, but a property owner must face the possibility that their lack of lighting could make it easier for criminals to carry out their crimes in dimly lit areas.
- Failure to install security measures
- While a crime is primarily the responsibility of the criminal that perpetrates it, a property owner is not off the hook for premises liability just because an injury was caused by a criminal. When a crime is predictable, and especially when it occurs in an area where crime is common, installing security measures like grates over windows and security cameras can help protect people. When a property owner fails to address these potential security issues, they increase the risk of harm to anyone passing by their property.
If you or a loved one have been injured due to someone else’s negligence, you should seek out the personal injury lawyers at Zlotolow & Associates. Our seasoned New York personal injury attorneys bring more than two decades of trial experience to your case. We serve all five boroughs of New York City, as well as Nassau and Suffolk County. We have helped thousands of clients recover through settlements and courtroom verdicts. To schedule a consultation, you can call us toll-free at (866) 800-0092, or you can visit our contact page.
When is a Property Owner Responsible for an Injury?
Property ownership is always a big deal, not merely because of the major investment it represents, but also because of the responsibilities it incurs. After all, if anyone gets injured on a property, the owner may be held legally responsible for that injury. But when exactly does a property owner become responsible for an injury, and when is it just someone else’s problem? Continue reading “When is a Property Owner Responsible for an Injury?”
