Long Island City Premises Liability Attorney

After sustaining an injury on someone else’s property, you might have to deal with extensive medical bills and even miss work. If you were hurt on unsafe premises, you could recover financial compensation for your losses.

If you don’t know who to turn to, contact Shulman & Hill. One of our premises liability attorneys in Long Island City can help you pursue the compensation you deserve. Our attorneys can fight for you and hold the liable party accountable.

What is Premises Liability?

Premises liability is a legal concept that occurs when unsafe or defective conditions of someone’s property cause an injury. These cases are typically based on negligence. To recover compensation in a premises liability case, the injured person must prove the property owner acted in a negligent way.

However, simply sustaining an injury on someone else’s property doesn’t guarantee compensation in a premises liability claim or lawsuit. You must prove the property owner acted in a negligent way and their negligence caused your injury.

Proving the Elements of Negligence

Proving negligence requires the injured party to prove the property owner satisfied all elements of negligence. An experienced premises liability attorney in Long Island City can help build a solid case to prove the property owner (or other responsible party) is the cause of your injuries.

The elements of negligence include:

• Duty of care: Property owners or tenants have a legal obligation to guests to maintain the property and remove hazards. These parties are not responsible for every single hazard or unsafe condition that may occur, but they should handle any known hazards and hazards or conditions they should have been aware of.
• Breach of duty of care: The owner or tenant breached their duty of care by not upholding the obligation to keep their property safe, within reason.
• Causation: The breach of duty led to the injured party sustaining an injury. If the property owner hadn’t breached their duty, the injury wouldn’t have occurred.
• Damages: The injured person suffered damages because of their injuries. Damages could include medical bills, lost income, pain and suffering, or emotional distress.

Once you begin working with our team, we can develop a case to prove the property owner acted negligently.

Common Premises Liability Cases

While premises liability cases occur for a variety of reasons, there are some types of cases that are more common than others, including:

• Slip and fall cases: If a wet spot on the property is not properly marked, slip and fall accidents can occur. While it may not seem like falls could cause serious injury, there are often injuries that require extensive medical care, such as head injury, broken bones, or spinal cord injuries.
• Snow and ice accidents: Accidents can occur if a property owner doesn’t clear snow and ice from their walkways. Suppose the property owner doesn’t remove snow, put down salt for ice, or adequately warn you of the hazard. If you then fall and fracture your arm, you could hold the property owner accountable.
• Swimming pool accidents: If unsafe conditions or improper supervision of children in a swimming pool leads to an accident, the injured person can hold the property owner accountable for those injuries.
• Amusement park accidents: Amusement parks have their own set of rules and regulations. If the workers don’t follow procedures and an injury occurs, the injured party can hold the amusement park accountable for their damages.
• Inadequate maintenance: Examples of unmaintained property may include damaged stairs or a lack of stair railings.
• Dog bites: Dog bites can be painful, expensive, and life-altering for victims. Determining liability depends on many factors, but our firm can handle this while you focus on recovering from your injuries or caring for a loved one.

Common Causes of Premises Liability Injuries

There are common hazards that can cause injuries to occur on someone else’s property, including:

• Inadequate lighting
• Insufficient security
• Spilled liquids
• Loose electrical cords
• Exposed electric wires
• Loose rugs or torn carpet
• Defects in the pavement
• Defective stairs or railings

When property owners are aware of hazardous conditions, or if they should have been aware of the issues, they should alert their guests of the problem or fix the issue. When they fail to do so, the injured person can hold the owners or tenants accountable for their injuries.

What to Expect if You Are in a Premises Liability Lawsuit

When you file a premises liability claim or lawsuit, you can expect to communicate with the property owner’s insurance company. They might offer you monetary compensation quickly, hoping you’ll take a lower offer than you deserve. There are also negotiations involved to try to reach a fair settlement deal.

If the parties can’t reach a settlement, the next step is to go to court. During this time, both parties will explain their side. This is when a strong case against the property owner is helpful.

How An Experienced Personal Injury Attorney Can Help

A personal injury attorney in Long Island City from Shulman & Hill can represent you throughout the entire process of your premises liability claim or lawsuit.

Our attorneys can:

• Investigate the accident. We can request the accident report, review what occurred, and gather evidence. We can then develop a solid case strategy to help you pursue the compensation you deserve.
• Handle communications on your behalf. Our team can handle communications with the insurance companies and opposing attorneys so you don’t have to. We understand the tactics they use to try to lowball injured victims and get them to accept paltry offers. We can fight for every dollar you deserve.
• Negotiate for a fair settlement agreement. Our team is comprised of experienced negotiators, and we can advocate aggressively for you to receive the maximum amount of compensation for your losses.
• Represent you at trial. If the two parties don’t settle, we can represent you during a trial. We are experienced litigators and know how to fight to recover the compensation you deserve.

A Long Island City premises liability lawyer from our firm can stand by your side throughout your premises liability case. You don’t have to do this alone.

Possible Defenses to a Premises Liability Claim

Our team has the experience needed to represent you through a premises liability case. We know the potential defenses opposing counsel might use and are prepared to counter their claim. Potential defenses can include:

• The property owner was unaware of the potential danger or risk
• The plaintiff contributed to their own injuries
• The injury was not foreseeable

Potential Compensation You Could Recover

You could recover compensation if you sustained an injury on someone else’s property. The premises liability lawyers in Long Island City from Shulman & Hill can fight for you to recover the maximum amount of compensation, including:

Economic Damages

Economic damages compensate you for the monetary losses you endured because of your injuries, including:

• Medical bills: The out-of-pocket costs you paid for emergency room visits, hospitalizations, surgeries, diagnostic testing, doctor’s visits, medications, ambulance rides, or any other costs associated with medical care.
• Future medical bills: If your injuries require medical care in the future after the claim or lawsuit is settled, you can include the projected costs of future medical bills in your claim.
• Lost income: If you had to miss work while recovering from your injuries or when you had procedures done, you could include lost income in your claim.
• Future lost income: If you cannot return to work in the same capacity or at all, you could include the projected future lost income in your claim.

Economic damages are easier to quantify because there is usually a receipt or documentation of their costs.

Non-Economic Damages

Non-economic damages compensate you for the non-monetary losses you incurred because of your injuries. Examples of non-economic damages you could recover after getting injured on someone else’s property include:

• Pain and suffering: You could recover compensation for the physical pain, anguish, inconvenience, or discomfort you felt because of your injuries.
• Emotional distress: You could recover compensation for the negative psychological impacts your injuries caused you, depnding on the circumstances of the case.

Non-economic damages are typically more difficult to calculate since they are not associated with an exact monetary amount.

Contact a Premises Liability Attorney in Long Island City, NY for a Free Consultation

If you sustained an injury on someone else’s property, our attorneys could help. You deserve to recover compensation and hold the liable party accountable. Property owners should keep their premises safe. If they don’t, there are consequences.

Contact Shulman & Hill today for a free consultation. We’re available 24 hours a day to discuss the circumstances of your accident. During the consultation, you can ask any questions you have. We can provide answers and develop a plan for the next steps in your case.