Content reviewed by:
Alex Shulman
When you go to a store, gym, or a friend’s house at a proper time and legally, the owner has a responsibility to ensure your safety to a reasonable degree. You should not have to worry about being injured because they failed to guard against or address hazards that could put someone in harm’s way.
Premises liability laws serve to promote the safety of Brooklyn residents by requiring property owners, tenants, and managers to take reasonable steps to eliminate such hazards.
Have you been injured on someone else’s property or on the sidewalk adjoining someone’s property? Do you suspect your accident occurred because they failed to maintain their property in a reasonably safe condition? If so, review your case with a Brooklyn premises liability attorney at Shulman & Hill. You may be entitled to compensation for losses resulting from your accident. We can review the details of your case to determine if you have a valid claim.
Important Information Regarding Brooklyn Premises Liability Cases
Pursuing compensation when you are harmed in an accident on someone else’s property is complex. Under New York’s premises liability laws, you may be entitled to compensation if you can prove the following:
- You were not trespassing when the accident occurred;
- The hazard that caused the accident existed as a result of the property owner or other responsible party’s failure to maintain the property in a reasonably safe condition.
For instance, you may be injured by tripping over a raised sidewalk flag or over an obstruction in the parking lot of a business. Whether or not you are entitled to compensation in these circumstances depends on multiple factors. If the obstruction was not visible due to this occurring at nighttime, you were unable to see it. This likely happened because of the owner’s failure to install and provide sufficient outdoor artificial illumination.
Situations like this are a potential legal case. When consulting with an attorney, it is important to share all of the details you can recall.
Common Examples of Brooklyn Premises Liability Cases
The scenario described above is just one example of an accident resulting from a property owner’s negligence. Other examples include (but are not limited to) the following:
- An employee mops the floor and forgets to put out a sign letting customers know the floor is wet, and you slip and fall as a result.
- An improperly maintained sidewalk.
- An improperly shoveled sidewalk or parking lot.
- You are injured in a shooting, bar fight, or other act of violence, due to the business or property owner not implementing adequate security measures.
- A property owner fails to promptly apply deicing agents to ice that had accumulated on the outdoor sections of their property, and you slip on the ice.
- You are exposed to lead paint or other potentially dangerous substances and materials.
- Grocery store employees or managers do not keep an eye out for spills or items on the floor, and as a result, you trip or slip over them.
- You are injured on a construction site due to the owner, general contractor and other contractors’ failure to maintain the site in a reasonably safe condition.
Those are merely a few examples. To better understand if your accident justifies pursuing compensation, meet with a personal injury lawyer in Brooklyn.
Brooklyn Premises Liability Cases: Seeking Compensation
The consequences of an accident on someone else’s property can be wide-ranging depending on the severity of your injuries. Some examples of the aftermath of an accident are, but not limited to:
- Past and Future Medical bills
- Inability to work and earn a paycheck
- Pain and Suffering
- Need for extensive medical treatment
- Limited mobility
- Diminished quality of life
You may deserve to be compensated for some of these losses if your injuries resulted from someone’s negligence. Optimize your chances of recovering said compensation by coordinating with a personal injury law firm in Brooklyn.
How Our Premises Liability Law Firm in Brooklyn Helps
Our premises liability lawyers are prepared to help you seek the compensation you may deserve by:
Investigating Your Accident
At Shulman & Hill, we have access to the resources necessary to conduct a thorough investigation of your accident. Such an investigation does not only confirm your accident was the result of another’s negligence. It can also reveal precisely who was negligent, and therefore responsible for compensating you.
For instance, someone was injured on an escalator. In this case, the property or business owner may be the liable party if they had not properly maintained the escalator. On the other hand, it is possible a design flaw caused the accident, in which case they would likely seek compensation from the designers or manufacturers who overlooked it.
An experienced attorney can help determine the core issue that caused the accident, and guide you throughout the process.
Determining the Value of Your Claim
Calculating how much compensation you deserve in a Brooklyn premises liability case can be challenging if you do not have an attorney present.
For instance, your injuries may require ongoing medical treatment. An estimated cost of future care would need to be determined as well, and added to the existing losses.
This is one of the most important reasons a personal injury lawyer can be helpful after an accident. We can account for all your losses to determine what a truly fair payout would look like.
Negotiating
When you have identified the liable parties and determined how much compensation you might be entitled to, the process of pursuing it typically begins with filing a claim against the negligent party’s insurance.
Keep in mind that insurers can potentially convince you to settle for less than your claim is truly worth. To avoid this type of situation, hire an attorney who understands insurers’ tactics. We will negotiate aggressively on your behalf, helping you reach a fair and appropriate settlement. If it is not possible, we will represent you in court to pursue the damages.