Month: December 2014

Slip-and-fall injuries at retail establishments

New York residents who have been injured while shopping at a store may be interested in the law surrounding premises liability. Depending on the actions or inaction of the store owner, they may have been negligent in leaving the hazardous area unattended. Whether caused by a wet floor or a torn carpet, slip-and-fall injuries are a common type of claim by shoppers. A person who is injured due to a slip and fall at a retail store may be able to file a premises liability claim against the store owner.

A store owner must take reasonable care that the premises are safe from potentially injurious hazards. This means that they have to remove any items that have fallen on the floor, clean up any spills within a reasonable time and fix any broken stairs and other objects in the store that could cause injury. To prove that the owner has not met this standard of care, evidence must show that the owner knew or should have known about the hazard. The injured party must also prove that there were not regular inspections and maintenance of the store and that the injury would not have occurred if the standard of care was met.

Owners may present defenses such as denying that the hazardous condition existed in the store or that it did not directly cause the injury. They may present evidence that they regularly inspected the premises. An obvious and avoidable hazard may in some cases not give rise to liability.

Navigating the complexities of a premises liability case can be difficult without the guidance of an attorney who can assess a person’s case and decide whether legal action is appropriate. If a lawsuit is advisable, the attorney can assist in determining the scope and range of damages to ask for.

Source: Findlaw, “Slip and Fall Injuries“, December 29, 2014

Is a property owner responsible for children who trespass?

Most New York adults know not to trespass on property where they are not welcome. If they do trespass, they usually know that they should exercise caution. Children, on the other hand, may not be so careful. They can be attracted to things that are inherently dangerous and may not understand the full risk involved. As a result, children sometimes suffer injuries on property where they weren’t welcome. In those situations, there is often a question as to whether the child’s family can pursue compensation from the property owner.

There are a number of rules that specifically define when a property owner is liable for injuries to trespassers. However, child trespassers have their own set of rules. Generally, premises liability with regard to child trespassers depends on whether there is an “attractive nuisance” in place. An attractive nuisance is something that an adult would likely see as dangerous, but a child may find attractive. This could include things like swimming pools or heavy machinery.

A property owner who has an attractive nuisance on its property also has a responsibility to make it safe for child trespassers. A court may look at whether the property owner knew or should have reasonably known that children would be attracted to the nuisance. Also, the court will look at whether the child would know that the nuisance presented risk and if the utility of the nuisance justified the potential danger.

While these criteria offer a helpful set of guidelines, rulings can vary from case to case depending on the circumstances in each situation. Parents who are curious as to whether they can pursue an action for damages may want to consult with a premises liability attorney.

Source: Findlaw, “Who Is Liable?”, December 22, 2014

Premises liability in New York

When you visit property owned by another person or a business, there is a possibility that you may suffer an injury due to uncorrected problems on the property. In New York alone, many people are injured every year on other people’s property because of the property owner’s negligence. If you too have been the victim of a property owner’s negligence or the inattentiveness of personnel employed by the owner to secure the property, you may be interested in the legal issue of premises liability.

Property owners and managers owe a duty of care to visitors and customers on their property. In order to prevent potential injuries, owners and managers have a duty to correct or repair known hazards. Even if a property owner and manager had not know about a hazard, they may still be liable if it can be proven that, reasonably, they should have known.

You may have suffered a debilitating and life-altering injury. Sometimes, people suffer on others’ property spinal cord injuries that cause permanent paralysis and tantamount injuries. When a property owner has been negligent in the repair and upkeep of his or her property, you might be eligible to seek compensation for the losses you suffer in the event of an accident.

At Daniella Levy & Associates, our Accident Attorneys are very familiar with the duties owed by property owners to visitors or customers. We provide a careful analysis of the facts of our clients’ cases and a fair assessment of the damages suffered. We aggressively litigate on behalf of our clients in order to help them recover compensation for the losses they have endured. We understand that people who have been injured often have questions about premises liability law. Accordingly, we have compiled more information on our slip-and-fall injury page.

Source: Daniella Levi & Associates, P.C., “Queens slip-and-fall Injury Lawyers”, December 17, 2014

New York laws regarding negligence and premises liability

Negligence may be confusing to some people because of its broad definition. A negligent act occurs when a person causes indirect or direct harm or injury to another person. This could occur when a hotel does not warn its guests about freshly waxed floors or does not properly maintain railing along stairs.

An individual’s or business’s actions are also considered negligent if the individual was not prudent when the harmed or injured person was owed the obligation. For example, a shopkeeper might be held negligent if a customer slips on a spilled drink and breaks a wrist or sprains an ankle. The negligence could be attributed to the shopkeeper not cleaning the spill promptly or not indicating that the floor was slippery.

Businesses that do not act prudently when they are obligated may be held accountable under premises liability laws. However, contributory negligence might be determined on the part of an injured individual. Using the above example, the customer might have contributed to the injury suffered if the individual saw the spilled drink but walked through it anyway.

When injured individuals are also held accountable for contributory negligence, the damages that they might be entitled to are reduced according to the percentage for which they are responsible for the injuries suffered. For instance, if the spill in the above examples was properly indicated but had been on the floor for hours when the customer slipped on it because the customer was not paying attention, both the shopkeeper and customer may be deemed negligent.

The laws regarding negligence may change, so people who believe that they were injured because of another person’s or entity’s negligent acts might gain a better understanding of their rights and the compensation that they could be entitled to after researching the law. Injured individuals who do not feel comfortable conducting their own research could talk to premises liability lawyers about their specific circumstances before determining their best course of action to seek compensation.

Source: Findlaw, “New York Negligence Laws“, December 09, 2014

While playgrounds are commonplace throughout New York, data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests that injuries at these locations are common. In fact, between 1990 and 2000, 147 children who were younger than 15 years old died due to injuries sustained at a playground.

About 56 percent of fatal playground injuries occurred due to strangulation. Another 20 percent of fatalities stem from falls onto the playground’s surface. Some common severe nonfatal injures injuries include concussions, amputations, fractures and internal injuries. These types make up approximately 45 percent of all playground injuries.

Data from 2001 suggests that while all children are at some risk of injury, certain groups may be more likely to suffer harm while using playgrounds. For example, young girls were more likely to become injured than young boys were. In addition, children from the ages of 5 to 9 were taken to emergency rooms after suffering a playground injury more often than any other age group.

While a majority of these types of accidents occur in public parks, many children are injured at home playgrounds. The cost of treating such injuries can be large. In 1995, the Office of Technology found that treatment for playground-related injuries in the same age group cost $1.2 billion. That cumulative figure suggests that the cost of treating an individual case may be prohibitive. However, such expenses may be covered by a personal injury lawsuit. If the child was injured due to the negligence of another party, that party may be liable for damages and might be named as a defendant in a civil action.

Source: CDC, “Playground Injuries: Fact Sheet“, December 04, 2014

Property owners’ responsibility for guest safety

In the state of New York, property owners have a legal obligation to maintain their premises and protect their guests from being injured by avoidable hazards. Based on their reason for visiting the property, guests are considered invitees, licensees or trespassers. Depending on which category of guest they are dealing with, property owners owe a certain degree of responsibility for the guest’s safety.

Property owners owe the highest level of care to invitees on their premises. An invitee on a property is a person who was invited to the property for a business reason. Invitees could be customers at a retail store, guests in a dining establishment or job applicants. In order to care for invitees properly, property owners are expected to correct known hazards on the property and also look for unknown hazards so that they can be corrected as well.

A property owner has less responsibility to care for a licensee who is using their premises. A licensee is someone who is using a property for personal reasons or for a social function. While a property owner must protect a licensee from known hazards on the property, the property owner does not have to inspect the property for unknown hazards. A trespasser on a property is in most cases not owed any level of care by the property owner.

Guests who have been injured by a hazard on a property may have a case for filing a premises liability claim. Some premises liability claims involve allegations of negligent maintenance by a property owner such as failing to clear an icy walkway or failing to properly light a parking lot. While determining whether to file, a prospective plaintiff might wish to seek help from an attorney in order to ensure that the property owner’s liability for the injuries is well-established.

Source: Findlaw, “Property Owners’ Legal Duty to Prevent Injury“, November 26, 2014