Can You Sue If You Fall on Private Property?

Premises Liability Lawyers Can Evaluate Your Case to Determine Whether You Can Sue If You Fall on Private Property

Depending on the situation, you may be able to sue a property owner who has been negligent if you suffer injuries from a fall on their property. Slip and fall accidents can result in serious injuries, including broken bones and head and neck injuries, and they can lead to paralysis or even death. Survivors may face long-term pain and suffering, need expensive continuing care, and be unable to work. Social and family life may never be the same again.

You have the right to seek a financial award after this type of accident if it wasn’t your fault. Even if you were partially at fault for causing the fall, you may be able to seek a partial financial award, as long as you can prove that another party was primarily at fault for the accident. Learn more about protecting your rights to seek a financial award after you fall on someone else’s property and suffer injuries.

How Injury Lawsuits Work When You Fall on Someone Else’s Private Property

Property owners have a duty of care to reasonably protect visitors on their property from undue harm. This applies to both residential property owners and commercial properties or businesses. They must take action to fix hazards they know exist or that they should have known about. They must warn visitors about these hazards and take steps to prevent injuries until the hazards are eliminated.

If negligent property owners fail to do so and you fall and suffer injuries as a result, you may be able to seek compensation for your injuries through an insurance claim or a personal injury lawsuit. While no amount of money can make up for extreme suffering, proper compensation can alleviate your financial worries and help you pay for the care you need.

Why Winning a Financial Award Is Difficult After Falling on Someone’s Property

New York personal injury law is complicated, making it difficult for you to represent yourself in a claim. Insurance companies have high-powered lawyers who will try to convince you to settle for the lowest amount possible. They may even claim the accident was your fault in order to avoid paying.

Fortunately, you do not have to fight this on your own.  At this difficult time when you are trying to recover from your injuries, lawyers for slip and fall accidents can take the burden off you by handling all aspects of your legal claim. Your lawyers can:

• Help you with evidence gathering to prove that the accident was not your fault
• Generate an accurate value for your injury claim
• Negotiate with the insurance company for you
• Give you time to focus on regaining your health.

Insurance companies can boost their profits by paying you less money, so they are willing to use lawyers and insurance adjusters to try to convince you to accept a smaller settlement than what your injuries would show that you deserve to have. Your attorneys can stand up for your rights and help you understand whether a settlement offer is fair.

Can You Sue Someone If You Fall on Their Property?

Winning Your Case Will Involve Many Steps

To learn whether you can sue someone if you fall on their property, you need to answer several questions. When you seek legal help from Tucker Lawyers, our team will take several steps to build your case. We will:

• Meet with you to hear how the fall happened
• Evaluate your case to determine whether there was negligence, what the case may be worth, and who the liable parties may be
• Investigate the accident scene and gather evidence
• Interview witnesses, police officers, and first responders
• File all paperwork in accordance with New York court requirements and deadlines
• Hire experts to testify as to how the accident happened, who was liable, and how your injuries negatively impact your life
• Negotiate with insurance companies and their attorneys for a fair settlement
• Build your case and take it to trial if necessary.

Winning Your Case Requires Proving Negligence

To win your case, your attorney must prove that another party, the defendant in the case, was negligent or at fault for causing the injuries you received.

Dangerous conditions can exist on any type of property, and property owners or managers have a responsibility to maintain and fix these conditions to prevent injury to others. Our attorneys will look to prove negligence by showing:

• The defendant owed you a duty of care not to cause harm.
• The defendant breached and failed to fulfill the duty.
• This breach caused the fall that injured you.
• You suffered actual damages as a result.

Examples of premises negligence that can result in falls include:

• Defects in sidewalks, roadways, concrete, or uneven flooring
• Wet floors without warning signs
• Ice and snow on walkways
• Poor lighting in stairs, hallways, or parking areas
• Loose handrails on stairs or broken steps
• Loose rugs or mats.

There are situations where multiple parties are at fault for premises liability, such as when there are several owners of a property or there is a management company responsible for repairs that neglected to make them. Our attorneys would seek to locate all of them, as they all may have insurance and assets to access in a settlement.

Damages You Can Try to Win in a Premises Liability Lawsuit

In a successful case, we can win a monetary award, called damages, as compensation for the injuries you sustained after another party’s negligence. New York damage awards usually fall into two categories: compensatory damages, for economic and noneconomic losses; and punitive damages, to punish someone for extreme wrongdoing.

Economic Damages

Economic damages are for monetary costs and expenses that result from the accident, such as:

• Medical and therapy bills
• Lost earnings
• Property damage.

Noneconomic Damages

Noneconomic damages are for damages that do not have a specific dollar value but negatively affect your life, such as:

• Pain and suffering
• Mental and emotional anguish
• Loss of consortium and enjoyment of life
• Permanent disability or disfigurement.

Punitive damages are awarded only in rare cases in order to punish a defendant who acted in an especially egregious manner and to deter such behaviors in the future.

Learn More About Whether You Can Sue After You Fall on Private Property

When you hire Tucker Lawyers, our New York personal injury lawyers will ensure that all legal matters and negotiations are done correctly and promptly within the framework of the law. We will fight aggressively for the compensation you deserve. We try to take the burden off you so you can concentrate on your recovery, your family, and moving forward with your life.

Don’t delay. New York has a statute of limitations (NY C.P.R. Section 214), which is a deadline for filing a lawsuit. Injured parties must get their lawsuit filed against the property owner within three years of the date of the incident that caused the injury. Call the experienced team at Tucker Lawyers today for your free consultation at (516) 399-2364.