At Levine and Wiss, Our Personal Injury Lawyers are Protecting Slip and Fall and Trip and Fall Victims on Long Island
“Slip and fall” accidents and the injuries that result fall into a category of law called “premises liability.” What does this mean?
If you get injured on the property of another, and the condition of the property was a factor to that injury, the property owner may be liable for your damages.
Property owners on Long Island, including Hempstead, West Hempstead, Amityville, and Valley Stream, have responsibilities. They must maintain their property in such a way as to be reasonably safe.
Slip-and-fall and trip-and-fall accidents can be the cause of serious injuries. If you have been injured in one of these types of accidents, you need to speak with our experienced personal injury attorneys at Levine and Wiss. We can tell you about your options for securing any compensation allowable by law.
At Levine and Wiss, our slip-and-fall attorneys have 100 years of combined experience securing substantial verdicts and settlements for our clients. From 2009-2020, we have been featured in Verdict Search’s Top New York Verdicts. We understand that you may require serious medical assistance after a slip-and-fall or trip-and-fall accident.
Our Long Island premises liability lawyers are committed to helping you secure access to the medical and financial resources you need to recover.
Who Might be Legally Responsible When you Get Hurt in a Slip and Fall Accident on Long Island?
Did you slip in a supermarket in Elmhurst? Did you fall in a parking lot in Queens? Did you fall down a flight of stairs in an office building in Brooklyn? Did your child get hurt in a neighbor’s backyard or fall off his bike because of an unrepaired pothole?
Regardless of where your slip and fall accident occurred, various parties might be legally responsible for paying you for your injuries. Generally, the parties who control the property can be held liable when negligence results in accidents and injuries.
Property owners, landlords, business owners, and municipal governments owe various duties to the public and visitors to their properties. When a party fails to uphold the duties and you get injured, you might be legally entitled to compensation.
What Duties do Property Owners Have to Ensure Your Safety?
Property owners have a legal duty to keep their premises reasonably safe. What does this mean?
In general, it means that property owners must take reasonable steps to fix conditions that they know to be unsafe. Also, property owners are responsible for taking reasonable steps to correct conditions that they should have known to be dangerous.
Negligence occurs when a property owner fails to take reasonable steps to fix dangerous conditions they knew or should have known about. Negligence can also occur when they fail to repair the condition or repair it ineffectively. Failing to warn about the danger can also be negligent.
Common Slip and Fall Accidents in Nassau County
All cases differ in small ways. However, with our experience with slip and fall claims, we see some situations repeatedly. Many slip and fall cases fall into one of several categories:
- Slipping on snow and ice in front of a business or home
- Slipping on spilled produce, condiments, liquids, or other items in a grocery store or supermarket
- Tripping over fraying or poorly laid carpeting
- Tripping and falling over an uneven sidewalk or broken pavement
- Falling in a parking lot that is poorly lit, broken, or icy
- Falling downstairs at work or in an apartment building due to broken boards, or uneven-ness
Did you get hurt when you slipped on a patch of ice in a poorly lit parking lot in Valley Stream? Did you fall and get hurt in a Brooklyn clothing store because of a bumpy or frayed carpet? Did you get hit on the head by a falling object in the supermarket in Hempstead?
If you experienced any of these types of accidents, call our personal injury lawyers to find out if you can file a premises liability claim.
Our Lawyers at Levine and Wiss Prove Negligence When you Get Hurt on Someone’s Property
In towns like Hempstead, West Hempstead, Valley Stream, and Levittown, people get hurt every day.
There is always some risk involved in everyday activities, and it is fair to expect the occasional misstep and rolled ankle. Not all accidents can result in legal claims and the recovery of compensation.
The key to a premises liability claim is proving that someone was negligent and that negligence resulted in your injuries. Proving negligence in a slip and fall case requires at least one following:
- The property owner (or someone else in control of the property like a business owner, tenant, or employee) caused the dangerous condition.
- The property owner (or someone else in control of the property like a business owner, tenant, or employee) knew about the dangerous condition and did nothing, or not enough, about it.
- The property owner (or someone else in control of the property like a business owner, tenant, or employee) should have known about the dangerous condition because a reasonable person would have discovered and taken steps to fix it or warn about it.
Our experienced premises liability lawyers at Levine and Wiss understand what it takes to prove that a property owner was negligent. Call us and tell us about your slip and fall accident and let us determine if you are entitled to monetary compensation.
Considerations to Help Determine What is Reasonable in a Slip and Fall Case
Slip and fall claims often hinge on whether a property owner acted reasonably. What reasonably means must be examined on a case-by-case basis. Consider this hypothetical situation and how we might evaluate reasonableness:
You went to the grocery store to purchase some items. In the condiment aisle, you slipped and fell on a patch of spilled salad dressing, breaking your arm and suffering a concussion.
Some questions we might ask to determine whether the property owner, store manager or an employee acted reasonably are:
- Was the spill there long enough that someone should have known about it and cleaned it?
- Does the store owner have procedures and policies in place to perform regular cleaning and/or evaluation of the premises?
- Should someone have known about and warned of the dangerous spill before removing it?
- Did someone try to clean it up but did not properly do so?
Once these factors are considered, and we determine negligence likely caused your accident and injuries, we can figure out how much your injuries are worth.
Our Long Island Slip, Trip, and Fall Lawyers Work to Help Victims Collect Maximum Compensation
We know that slip and fall injuries can be severe.
Broken bones, head injuries, and back injuries can result in lifelong problems. You might need surgeries, therapies, and medication. You might not be able to return to work for some time, if ever.
Our lawyers at Levine and Wiss take pride in our dedication to ensuring our clients receive the maximum compensation that premises liability laws allow.
We can help you collect damages for lost wages, medical expenses, and other losses you might experience after your slip and fall accident on Long Island.
Contact Levine and Wiss, Attorneys Representing Slip, Trip, and Fall Victims Across Long Island
To protect your rights and to help you secure the kind of compensation that your injuries actually warrant, turn to the experienced personal injury lawyers of Levine and Wiss, PLLC.
We are dedicated to helping our clients secure the maximum compensation.
There are time limits to file personal injury claims.
We don’t know how much time you have left until we hear about your case. Call Levine and Wiss today at 888-GOT-HURT or contact us online to schedule a free initial consultation of your slip and fall case.
We represent clients on a contingent fee basis, which means we don’t get paid until you secure the compensation the laws allow.
