Who Can You Sue for a Slip and Fall?

Who Can You Sue for a Slip and Fall?

After a sudden and painful slip and fall accident, you might find yourself dealing with serious injuries and mounting medical bills. When this happens, a pressing question often comes to mind: Who is responsible? In many cases, you may be able to sue the property owner, manager, or another party in control of the location where you fell. The key to a successful slip and fall lawsuit on Long Island is determining which person or entity failed to keep the property reasonably safe, leading to your injuries.

Slip and fall cases involve a legal concept called premises liability. This principle holds property owners and operators accountable for accidents caused by unsafe conditions on their property. Figuring out exactly who to hold responsible can be complicated, as liability can fall on different parties depending on the circumstances of your fall.

Understanding Premises Liability on Long Island

Premises liability is the area of law that addresses injuries caused by an unsafe or defective condition on someone’s property. At its core, this concept is built on the idea that property owners and controllers have a "duty of care." A duty of care is a legal obligation to act with reasonable caution to prevent foreseeable harm to others.

In New York, property owners must maintain their property in a reasonably safe condition. This duty extends to protecting people from a wide range of hazards, such as:

• Wet or slippery floors
• Icy sidewalks and parking lots
• Broken or uneven pavement
• Poorly lit stairwells
• Loose or torn carpeting
• Debris or obstacles in walkways

Whether you were injured after slipping on a freshly mopped floor at a grocery store in Westbury or tripping over a cracked sidewalk while walking in Patchogue, the party in control of that property had a responsibility to address the danger. If they failed to do so, they may be considered negligent and held accountable for the injuries that resulted.

This duty applies regardless of why you were on the property. In the past, the level of care depended on whether a person was a guest, a customer, or a trespasser. Today, New York law focuses on what is reasonable under the circumstances for all people who might enter the property.

Identifying Potential Defendants in a Slip and Fall Lawsuit

One of the most important steps in pursuing compensation is correctly identifying all responsible parties. The person who owns the land isn't always the only one who can be held accountable.

Property Owners

The most obvious defendant is the owner of the property where the accident occurred. This applies to both residential and commercial properties. For example, a homeowner who knows a railing on their porch is loose but does nothing to fix it could be liable if a guest leans on it and falls. 

Similarly, the owner of a shopping plaza could be responsible if a visitor is injured due to poor lighting in the parking lot. The owner is generally the starting point for a Long Island slip and fall accident lawyer when investigating an accident and building a case.

Tenants and Business Occupants

Liability can become more complex when the property is leased. In many commercial leases, the tenant or business operating on the premises assumes responsibility for maintaining a safe environment for customers and employees. A lease agreement often outlines which party is responsible for specific areas.

Consider these common scenarios:

• Retail Stores: The company leasing a storefront in a mall is typically responsible for keeping the aisles clear and cleaning up spills inside its store.
• Landlords: The landlord or property owner often retains responsibility for common areas like lobbies, elevators, stairwells, and parking lots in an apartment complex or office building.
• Shared Responsibility: In some cases, both the tenant and the property owner may share responsibility for an accident.

Determining liability often requires a careful review of the lease agreement and other relevant contracts to see how duties were assigned.

Property Management Companies

Many large residential and commercial properties, from apartment buildings in Mineola to office parks in Hauppauge, hire third-party companies to handle day-to-day operations and maintenance. These property management companies sign contracts that delegate duties like snow and ice removal, routine inspections, and general repairs. 

If a management company fails to fulfill its contractual obligations and someone gets hurt, the company can be named as a defendant in a slip and fall lawsuit.

Government or Municipal Entities

If your fall occurred on public property—such as a public park, a government building, a subway station, or a city sidewalk—you may be able to sue the government entity responsible for it. This could be a village, town, city, or county. However, claims against government bodies in New York have special rules and much shorter deadlines.

You must file a "Notice of Claim" within 90 days of the accident to preserve your right to file a lawsuit later. Failure to meet this strict deadline can prevent you from ever recovering compensation for your injuries. This is a critical distinction from the standard time limit for other personal injury claims.  Additionally, municipalities typically have requirements that they received prior written notice of the defective condition in order for a case to be pursued against them.  The exception to this is if they created the dangerous condition.

What You Need to Prove in a Slip and Fall Case

Simply falling and getting injured on someone else's property is not enough to have a successful claim. You must be able to prove that the defendant was negligent. Negligence is a legal term meaning that someone failed to act with reasonable care, and this failure caused harm.

To establish negligence in a New York premises liability case, you and your legal team must demonstrate four key elements:

1. A Duty of Care Existed: The defendant (e.g., the property owner or manager) had a legal responsibility to keep the premises reasonably safe.
2. The Duty Was Breached: The defendant failed to meet this responsibility. This could be by creating a dangerous condition (like waxing a floor without putting up signs) or by failing to fix a hazard they should have known about (like a broken step).
3. Causation: The defendant's breach of duty was a direct cause of your slip and fall accident and your injuries.
4. Damages Were Incurred: You suffered actual harm, which can include medical expenses, lost income, physical pain, and emotional distress.

These elements create the foundation of a strong premises liability claim.

A crucial part of proving a breach of duty is showing that the property owner had "notice" of the dangerous condition. This means you must show they either knew or should have known about the hazard. There are two types of notice:

• Actual Notice: The owner or their employee was directly aware of the danger. For example, if a customer told a manager about a spill on the floor.
• Constructive Notice: The dangerous condition existed for a long enough period that the owner or their employees should have discovered it through reasonable care and routine inspection. For example, if a puddle from a leaky freezer was on the floor for several hours.
• Prior Written Notice:  As is noted above, a municipality needs to have received written notice of a defect prior to your accident in order to be liable.  The exception to this is if they created the condition.

An attorney can help investigate the circumstances of your fall to gather evidence that establishes notice and the other elements of negligence.

How New York’s Comparative Negligence Rule Affects Your Claim

Insurance companies or defense attorneys may try to argue that you were partially responsible for your own fall. They might claim you weren't paying attention or were wearing inappropriate footwear. In New York, this doesn't automatically prevent you from recovering compensation.

New York follows a legal rule called pure comparative negligence. This rule allows you to seek damages even if you are found to be partially at fault for the accident. However, your total compensation award will be reduced by your percentage of fault.

For example, if a jury determines your total damages are $100,000 but finds that you were 10% at fault, your damages would be reduced by 10% ($10,000), and you would receive $90,000. This system ensures that accountability is assigned fairly based on each party's contribution to the incident.

The Clock is Ticking: Understanding New York’s Statute of Limitations

It is important to act quickly after a slip and fall accident because New York law sets strict deadlines for filing a lawsuit. This deadline is called the statute of limitations. If you miss it, you may lose your right to pursue compensation forever.

• General Personal Injury: For most slip and fall accidents, you generally have three years from the date of the incident to file a lawsuit.
• Wrongful Death: If a loved one tragically passes away from injuries sustained in a fall, the family has two years from the date of death to file a wrongful death lawsuit.
• Claims Against Municipalities: As mentioned earlier, if you plan to sue a government entity, you must file a Notice of Claim within 90 days of the accident.

Because of these deadlines, it is beneficial to speak with a personal injury attorney as soon as you are able. They can help ensure all necessary paperwork is filed correctly and on time.

Suing for a Slip and Fall Accident FAQs

Here are answers to some common questions that arise after a slip and fall accident.

How a Long Island Slip and Fall Attorney Can Help

If you were seriously injured in a slip, trip, or fall, the legal team at Rosenberg & Gluck, LLP, can help. We are dedicated to helping accident survivors on Long Island hold negligent property owners accountable. We focus our practice on personal injury law, allowing us to build strong cases for our clients.

Our attorneys will handle all aspects of your claim, from investigating the accident and identifying the liable parties to communicating with insurance companies on your behalf. We are prepared to take a case to trial if that is what it takes to pursue the full compensation you need to recover. We can assist clients in both English and Spanish. Contact us today for a free consultation to discuss your case.