Suffering a slip and fall accident can cause serious injuries, which in turn mean major medical bills, lost time from work, and more. You can expect the at-fault party and its insurer to deny your claims and do whatever they can to avoid liability. Who is on your side when it comes to demanding the compensation you deserve?
Turn to the Garden City personal injury attorneys of The Saul Law Firm, LLP. We know what it takes to fight for the rights of slip and fall victims, and we don’t get paid unless we win. Find out why clients trust us to represent them each step of the way.
Recovery Options After a New York Slip and Fall Accident
Most victims generally have one of two paths for recovering monetary compensation after a slip and fall accident:
- File a claim with the at-fault party’s insurance company: This requires determining who owns or is responsible for the property and filing a claim against their insurer. You may be able to settle the claim, but you might have to take the second step.
- File a personal injury lawsuit: If the at-fault party’s insurance company refuses to negotiate, or the party has no insurance, you can file a lawsuit. You can still settle the issue in mediation, but you may have to proceed to trial.
Our Garden City slip and fall attorneys are ready to represent you either way. Before speaking with the insurance company, talk to us to review your legal rights.
How to Know If You Have a Slip and Fall Case
If you need to file a lawsuit, it will be up to you to prove the following four elements of a New York personal injury case:
- Duty of care: Property owners have a duty to keep their premises free of dangers that can cause foreseeable harm to others. This means correcting or warning about property hazards the owner knows or should reasonably know about.
- Breach: A breach of the duty of care occurs when the owner fails to live up to their obligation to inspect the property and correct or warn of dangers. A breach is indicative of negligence.
- Causation: Next, the victim must show that the breach (the unreasonable allowance of a dangerous property condition) caused their slip and fall. In other words, there must be a causal link between the breach and the accident.
- Damages: Lastly, the victim should be prepared to demonstrate the nature and amount of their damages. These typically include economic (e.g. medical bills) and non-economic (e.g. pain suffering) damages, and potentially punitive damages depending on the facts.
Common Causes of Garden City Slips and Falls
Understanding why slip and fall accidents happen is an important first step towards proving liability. Common causes include:
- Ice, snow, and rain: Any sort of precipitation can make an otherwise stable surface dangerous. Property owners should, within a reasonable amount of time after ice, snow, or rain accumulates, take steps to clear it or warn others.
- Spilled liquids: Any sort of business can be liable for spilling liquids and then either not cleaning them up or not limiting access to the area. Even a small amount of liquid can cause a significant slip and fall accident.
- Slick surfaces: Other substances that fall onto the floor can produce hazardous conditions for visitors. For instance, dropping food in a restaurant and not cleaning it up may cause a patron to slip and fall.
- Uneven surfaces: Any sort of uneven surface presents a tripping hazard that can disrupt balance. An example is a sinking or elevated portion of sidewalk. In Garden City and elsewhere in New York, the adjacent property owner has a duty to keep the sidewalk reasonably safe.
- Absence of handrails: Steps and stairs should have handrails to prevent trips and falls. However, handrails can break or otherwise become unreliable over time, which is why property owners should routinely inspect their premises.
- Poor lighting: The lighting should be ample in any place in which foot traffic is expected. Enhanced visibility can help visitors and guests avoid tripping hazards and slick substances.
Steps You Should Take After a Slip and Fall
If you or a loved one were injured in a slip and fall, it’s important that you take a few steps to protect your well-being and your legal rights. Our attorneys suggest you do the following:
- Call 911: Report the accident to Garden City emergency officials and ask for an ambulance if you have serious injuries. Also ask the police for a copy of the accident report.
- Get medical attention: Even if you do not think you were not seriously hurt, you need to see a doctor. Some injuries take hours or days to show up. Not getting medical attention may jeopardize your health and your right to compensation.
- Gather evidence: Take pictures and record videos of the accident scene, including any landmarks which can help identify the location. This is especially important since the property owner may clean up the area (e.g. by removing the ice) and destroy vital evidence.
- Ask eyewitnesses for their names: If anyone saw the slip and fall happen, get their names and contact information. Third-party eyewitness testimony is a powerful form of evidence.
- Write down what happened: Make notes about the incident as soon as possible so you can record key details about the slip and fall. Include information about the property owner or other responsible party.
- Contact an experienced personal injury lawyer: Don’t speak with the insurance company or sign any paperwork until you speak with an attorney. Your lawyer will work for the compensation you deserve.
How Can an Attorney Help You?
Not just any attorney can adequately represent a slip and fall victim. You want a lawyer who specifically has experience handling these types of cases in Garden City and surrounding areas. When you retain The Saul Law Firm, LLP, we get to work by:
- Investigating how the slip and fall happened
- Determining who should be held liable for the accident
- Obtaining the evidence you need to prove your claim
- Negotiating with the at-fault party’s insurance company to try to reach a settlement
- Filing a lawsuit, if necessary, and serving it on the defendants
- Applying the substantive laws as well as court and local rules, such as civil procedure
- Calculating a fair dollar amount for your losses
- Retaining the services of expert witnesses who can help with your claim
- Representing you in mediation
- Taking your case to trial if a fair settlement cannot be reached
Count on Our Trusted Legal Guidance
From start to finish, we are prepared to represent your best interests and help you seek the damages you need to recover. That’s the level of legal service you can expect from The Saul Law Firm, LLP. Contact us today to get started.
Frequently Asked Questions About New York Slip and Fall Cases
How long does a property owner have to address a dangerous condition?
There is no set time in which a property owner must fix a hazardous condition or be held liable for an accident. Courts examine the overall circumstances and the owner’s actions in light of them to determine whether the issue was addressed in a “reasonable” time.
For example, if a customer spills a liquid on the floor and someone else slips on it ten seconds later, the store likely didn’t have enough time to find out about it and clean it up. Compare this with leaving the spill for an hour and not taking any action to clean up the spill or warn customers about it.
What sort of evidence is helpful in a slip and fall case?
You will want to document exactly what the property owner or other responsible party knew about the accident and when. For instance, if there are prior inspections or reports that identified the hazard, and then nothing was done about it, this will work in your favor. You will also want to document your medical bills, lost income, and other damages.
Who can be held liable for a slip and fall accident?
While most slip and fall claims are concerned primarily with the Garden City property owner, by no means is a claim limited to just this party. Other potentially liable parties include property managers, landlords, contractors, and even governmental entities. Our firm is committed to identifying and holding liable all responsible parties.
Is there a deadline to file a lawsuit?
You must file a lawsuit within three years of the incident to preserve your legal rights. If the defendant is a government entity you will have only 90 days to file a notice of claim. Our firm files lawsuits on behalf of our clients to preserve their legal rights, but will work for a settlement if possible.
How much will it cost me to hire your firm?
Our firm works on a contingency fee basis, so there is no upfront cost and you pay nothing unless we win or settle your case. We represent clients in Garden City, Nassau County, Suffolk County, Westbury, Uniondale, Hempstead, Long Island, Queens, Brooklyn, New York City, the Bronx, Staten Island, and Westchester County.