New York Slip and Fall Lawyer
Most of the time, walking is a routine activity that we do not consciously pay attention to. But it only takes one misstep to cause a slip and fall that leads to serious injury. After that, it may require the right legal steps to figure out if a property owner’s negligence caused your injury.
If you have suffered injuries following a slip and fall, you may be eligible to pursue compensation for your losses from the negligent party. Losses could include lost income, healthcare, and pain and suffering. A New York slip and fall lawyer from Shulman & Hill personal injury law firm in New York can guide you through those steps. Call 212.221.1000 to find out how.
Why Slip and Fall Survivors Deserve Compensation
Slip and fall accidents are not usually random, unpreventable acts of clumsiness. Most occur in predictable patterns and have recognizable risk factors. Under New York law, property owners have a legal responsibility to keep their premises in a reasonably safe condition to avoid foreseeable accidents. This may include:
- Storing potentially dangerous equipment or other materials in a safe place
- Making sure all buildings on the property are safe and stable
- Repairing or otherwise addressing potential hazards promptly
- Shoveling snow and putting down rock salt during the winter
When property owners and managers fail to keep their property safe, and somebody else is injured on their property, they may be legally responsible for a slip and fall injury. As such, you can seek compensation for:
- Pain and suffering: Have you experienced physical and/or psychological distress because of your injuries? Was the accident itself traumatizing?
- Loss of consortium: Has your relationship with your spouse been negatively impacted by the injury?
- Medical expenses: Did you need to see a doctor, dentist, surgeon, pharmacist, physical therapist, psychologist, or other medical professional because of your injury?
- Loss of income: Will the injury keep you from ever returning to your previous job? Are you unable to reenter the job market at all?
- Loss of future income: Has the accident kept you from working, forced you to reduce working hours, or compelled you to accept light duty?
All of these losses could entitle slip-and-fall victims to compensation. A lawyer from our New York personal injury law firm can closely examine your case to determine which types of damages your injury entitles you to seek.
How Our Slip and Fall Attorneys Can Help
Whether you slipped and fell on private property, or suffered a fall on a sidewalk or in a government building, you may be able to file a personal injury claim to seek compensation for your medical bills, lost income, and pain and suffering. If you slipped and fell at work, workers’ compensation could provide for lost income and cover medical bills.
Shulman & Hill is currently accepting new clients who would like help filing a personal injury lawsuit, workers’ compensation claim, or possibly both. We can handle both cases from the same law office for you. Here are some of the things we can do for you:
Deal With Insurance Companies
Whatever money you get from a settlement or jury award will most likely come from the liable party’s insurer. This means the insurance company will:
- Investigate the accident, including requesting evidence
- Request a statement about your recollections of the accident
- Offer what they feel is a fair amount of compensation
While it is necessary to let the insurance company conduct its own investigation, you do not have to speak with them by yourself. In fact, we would speak with them for you. Any statements they require would come through us. We can make sure you don’t accidentally say something to put your case at risk, such as implying you were at fault or that your injuries aren’t that bad.
Strengthen Your Case File
The more evidence we can collect backing up your version of events, the harder it will be for the insurance company to claim you don’t deserve what you are asking for. We can seek many forms of evidence, including:
- Medical records and doctor’s statements discussing your injury and treatment
- Video or photos showing the accident as it happened or the aftermath
- Interviews with eyewitnesses
- Paperwork, such as bills or receipts, to show the financial effect the injury has had on you
While we would be happy to review any materials you have already collected, you don’t have to have a complete case before calling us. We can build your case from scratch or by starting with evidence you’ve already collected.
File for Workers’ Compensation
Did you fall while on the job? If so, you could be eligible for workers’ compensation benefits in addition to a personal injury settlement. Our lawyers can handle both of these types of cases for you simultaneously, saving you a lot of time, money, and unnecessary hassle.
Filing for workers’ compensation requires you to send notifications and forms in a timely fashion. You must also cope with disputes if the insurer disagrees with any part of your claim. As with personal injury cases, we can take care of these tasks for you.
Suing the Right Party After a Fall
CPLR § 214 generally gives you three years from the date of your fall to take legal action against the liable party. Given this, it may be wise to hire a lawyer from our firm to investigate your accident’s cause as soon as possible.
We must identify all of the liable parties involved in your case. This will likely be the property owner. However, some cases have more than one liable party, so you may also be able to file suit against:
- A property manager, or someone the owner hired to maintain the property on their behalf
- A lessee, or someone the owner leased the property to, such as a business that operates on the owner’s land
- A manufacturer, if materials or tools the owner used to maintain the property were faulty
You may not be able to tell who is responsible for an accident simply by experiencing it or looking at the scene. An in-depth investigation can reveal a clearer picture of what happened that day—and Shulman & Hill can conduct that investigation for you.
Are Slip and Fall Injuries Dangerous?
Slip and fall injuries can be very dangerous—even fatal—under certain conditions, such as if:
- The person is vulnerable in some way. The very young and very old, as well as those with pre-existing medical conditions, are especially susceptible to severe injury.
- The injury is so severe that no amount of medical treatment can undo the damage.
- The injury is not treated promptly and worsens.
Even if you feel okay or experience only mild symptoms, it is better to get prompt medical attention and make sure you are truly all right. This is especially true if you hit your head. As Johns Hopkins states, it is not always obvious when someone has a head injury. Furthermore, head injuries have been known to lead to death or disability.
Other potential injuries you could suffer in a fall include bone fractures, muscle sprains and strains, and even deep cuts if you fell on a rough surface or sharp object.
Rather than risk your health, see a doctor as soon as possible after a fall. You can use the resulting medical records to build a case against the liable party.
After a Fatal Slip and Fall
Even if someone does everything right after a fall—seeking prompt care, following their doctor’s instructions, etc.—they still may not make it if the injury was severe enough.
If someone does not survive long enough to file a lawsuit, does that mean the liable party gets away with their negligent actions? Absolutely not. Shulman & Hill can file a wrongful death lawsuit for the surviving relatives of a fatal slip and fall victim, seeking the compensation that your entire family deserves.
After a Fall, Call Our Firm
Shulman & Hill is uniquely positioned to determine your case value because we offer legal representation for both workers’ compensation and personal injury cases. If you suffered a slip and fall injury on someone else’s property in New York, our premises liability lawyers can review your options with you.
Call us at 212.221.1000, email us at [email protected], or contact us online to receive a free consultation. We have offices in Manhattan, the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Queens.
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