Southampton Slip And Fall Injury Lawyer

Many slip and fall or trip and fall incidents cause serious injuries, some of which may be fatal. Injuries like these can require medical attention and incur hefty treatment costs. It can be difficult to take on the burden of these expenses, especially if your injuries have caused you to miss time at work.

Do not assume that you should have to bear the costs of your slip and fall alone. Often, a fall happens because of a property owner’s negligence. In these cases, it may be possible to hold the owner liable for the victim’s damages, including pain and suffering.

A Rosenberg & Gluck, L.L.P. slip and fall injury lawyer serving Southampton can talk to you about your incident and inform you of your legal options. Call us today at (631) 451-7900 for a case review and learn about collecting compensation from any negligent parties.

How Slip and Fall Injuries Happen

You can slip and fall (or trip and fall) anywhere—at a neighbor’s home, your workplace, a restaurant, or on the sidewalk, for example. The issue that comes into play in a slip and fall or trip and fall claim is whether the owner of the property where the incident occurred behaved negligently, thereby causing your injury.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), common causes of slip, trip and fall injuries include:

• Irregularities on walking surfaces.
• Snow, ice, and other weather-related factors.
• Runners and floor mats.
• Broken handrails and stairs.
• Insufficient lighting.
• Ladders and stepping stools.
• Spills on the floor.
• Poorly draining pipes and drains.
• Floor clutter.
• Cords and wires.

With any of these conditions, the property owner owes visitors a duty of care to fix slipping or tripping hazards, and to alert property occupants of the existence of these dangers.

Establishing the Property Owner’s Liability

Premises liability laws clearly outline the parameters for holding a property owner liable for a slip and fall injury. In order to recover damages from a property owner, the circumstances of your slip and fall incident must match all of the following scenarios:

• At the time your slip and fall occurred, you were lawfully occupying the property in question.
• The owner of the property was aware of the safety hazard, or they reasonably should have been aware of it.
• Despite their knowledge of the hazard, the property owner neglected to remedy the situation and/or sufficiently alert property occupants of the dangerous condition.
• This negligent behavior caused you to slip and fall, which caused you to sustain an injury.

Take note that trespassers may still be able to pursue compensation for their injury if the property owner knew the trespasser occupied the property and did not act to block their presence or if the property owner caused willful or wanton harm to the trespasser.

The same holds true for areas of a property that by their very nature may entice unauthorized individuals, like children, to trespass. For example, if your neighbor has a swimming pool and takes no steps to prevent access to the area, they may be held liable for damages to a child who trespasses and suffers injuries there

A slip, trip and fall injury lawyer serving Southampton can investigate your case and gather the evidence required to establish all the above facts. Call Rosenberg & Gluck, L.L.P. for a case review at (631) 451-7900.

New York’s Pure Comparative Negligence Rule

The owner of the property where you fell could claim that you are to blame for your injury. Even if this is true to some degree, according to New York Civil Practice Law and Rules (CVP) §1411, you can still collect compensation from the property owner.

A jury will determine the percentage to which you were at fault for your slip or trip and fall, then deduct that percentage from your total damages. As you can imagine, having the evidence to establish the circumstances of your incident is paramount when working to recover your losses.

Investigating the Cause and Identifying the Negligent Party

When you hire us to handle your case, we will immediately begin with an in-depth investigation of the slip or trip and fall incident that caused your injury. We will also document the damages you have incurred. We will collect evidence by:

• Reviewing the scene of your slip or trip and fall.
• Interviewing witnesses and recording their accounts of what happened.
• Gathering and reviewing facility safety records.
• Obtaining the facility incident report.
• Collecting medical records related to your injury.
• Reviewing photos and property surveillance videos, where available.
• Talking to experts when needed.
• Obtaining wage statements from your employer to establish lost wages.

This evidence can help us establish the property owner’s negligence and liability. We will also use some of these materials to support your claim for damages.

Types of Damages You Might Recover

The circumstances and outcomes for your accident are unique to your case. For this reason, your lawyer will not be able to talk to you about the value of your case until they have reviewed the evidence related to your damages. That said, slip or trip and fall injury cases often recover the following types of damages:

• Medical expenses
• Lost income and benefits
• Pain and suffering
• Diminished future potential earnings
• Diminished quality of life
• Emotional stress
• Mental anguish

If your loved one died from the injuries they suffered in a slip and fall or trip and fall, you may be entitled to pursue a wrongful death action. Our lawyers can assist you with this effort, which could provide compensation you will likely need in this situation.

Reach Out to a Slip and Fall Injury Lawyer in Southampton Today

New York’s statute of limitations for personal injury cases is generally three years. If you are suing a municipality or other governmental entity—because your slip and fall happened in a government building or city-maintained sidewalk, for example—much shorter deadlines may apply. This could shorten the amount of time you have to take legal action to mere months. Additionally, wrongful death actions must be brought in a shorter amount of time.

By hiring a law firm earlier, rather than later, the legal team can get started and make sure to handle your claim before time runs out.

Call Rosenberg & Gluck, L.L.P. today for a free consultation at (631) 451-7900. Our staff can assist clients in Spanish, as needed.