Have You Been Injured in a Fall in Manhattan?
Manhattan is one of the most justly celebrated destinations on the planet, with far more world-renowned attractions packed into less than 23 square miles than one could even begin to list. The most densely populated borough in “The City That Never Sleeps,” Manhattan always has something for locals and visitors alike to do and see, but even the most idyllic day can turn into a nightmare when a concealed hazard causes a fall.
Falling is the leading cause of accidental injuries in New York, the chief cause of injury-related hospitalizations for New Yorkers under age 15 and over age 24, and the number one cause of injury-related deaths for New York residents age 45 and older. Even the survivors of serious falls in Manhattan can suffer grievous injuries requiring prolonged treatment that may be beyond the means of most Manhattan families.
While you may be eligible to pursue a premises liability claim if you have been injured in a fall on someone else’s property in Manhattan, a favorable outcome is never a sure thing. To tip the odds in your favor, consider doing what so many others have done before you and get in touch with the Manhattan slip-and-fall accident lawyers at The Law Office of Richard M. Kenny, who have been defending the rights of injured New Yorkers for more than three decades.
If you are contemplating a premises liability case for an accidental fall in Manhattan, call (212) 421-0300 or fill out the form below to schedule a no-cost case review with a Manhattan slip and fall attorney.
What Is a Slip and Fall Accident Case?
Premises liability is an area of personal injury law focused on property-based claims. Just like other personal injury matters, a premises liability case needs to allege both negligence and damages.
Negligence occurs when a party fails to satisfy a duty to exercise reasonable care to avoid causing harm, also known as damages. If a plaintiff sustains physical damages because of a defendant’s negligence, that plaintiff may be eligible to recover financial damages from the defendant.
In a slip and fall accident case, which is a type of premises liability claim in which the mechanism of injury is a fall, a plaintiff is alleging that the negligence of a property owner caused the fall in question. For the claim to be successful, the plaintiff must show that:
- The property owner owed a duty to the plaintiff to exercise reasonable care to maintain safe conditions on a property;
- The owner breached this duty by not exercising care to keep the property reasonably safe; and
- That breach was the direct cause of a fall in which the plaintiff was injured.
Proving all three of these elements can be harder to do in a slip-and-fall accident than in an incident in which there is a more obvious link between a defendant’s behavior and a plaintiff’s injuries, such as a car accident.
Fortunately, the Manhattan slip and fall lawyers at our firm are highly adept at uncovering breaches of duty on the part of property owners.
Common Causes of Manhattan Slip and Fall Accidents
A variety of unsafe conditions on a property could cause a fall in Manhattan, whether that fall occurs in a private home, a commercial establishment, or a public facility. Common causes of Manhattan slip and fall accidents include:
- Overly slick surfaces
- Standing water
- Uneven or damaged stairs
- Loose floorboards, mats, or rugs
- Bulging carpets
- Cracked sidewalks
- Holes in walkways
- Hidden obstacles
- Poor lighting
- Unsalted ice
Defects of this nature could be a sign of negligence, which is a key aspect of slip and fall accident claims. Regardless of the cause of your injury, our knowledgeable Manhattan slip and fall attorneys will determine the best course of action against a negligent property owner.
Were You Owed a Duty of Care?
To prevail in a slip and fall accident claim, you will need to establish that you fell because a property owner breached a duty of care owed to you. But did that property owner actually owe you a duty of care? And what would that duty really entail?
The answer may depend on why you were on that owner’s property in the first place. In the State of New York, a property owner’s duty of care extends to lawful visitors to his or her premises. Generally speaking, lawful visitors may be divided into two categories:
- Invitees – Individuals who are on a property for the commercial or business benefit of the owner are classified as invitees, such as customers in a grocery store or diners in a restaurant.
- Licensees – Those who are permitted to enter a property without providing a commercial or business benefit to the owner are considered licensees, like guests at a party or relatives dropping by for a visit.
Anyone who is on a property in New York without the owner’s permission is categorized as a “trespasser.” A trespasser can be as innocuous as a neighbor taking a shortcut across a lawn or as nefarious as a burglar prying open a bedroom window. Though trespassing is illegal, New York property owners may still have some obligations to trespassers, with the extent of those obligations largely determined by the trespasser’s age:
- Adult Trespassers – Property owners owe a limited duty of care to trespassing adults, provided that the owners know of their presence on the premises. If that is the case, a property owner has an obligation to warn trespassers about any man-made hazards, such as an electrified fence.
- Child Trespassers – Trespassing children may be owed a heightened duty of care by New York property owners, particularly if the property features an “attractive nuisance,” which is an unsafe condition that is uniquely appealing to a minor, like an unfenced pool. New York property owners who do not adequately warn about or remedy attractive nuisances have been consistently found liable when these nuisances injure child trespassers.
Clearly, what you were doing when you fell on somebody’s property will heavily influence whether or not you can be compensated for it. Our Manhattan slip and fall lawyers are ready to evaluate the facts leading up your injury and assess whether you have grounds for a civil case.
How Our Manhattan Slip and Fall Attorneys Can Help
A major fall can turn your life upside down, forcing you to deal with skyrocketing medical bills and unforeseen expenses while curtailing your ability to make ends meet. Unless outside help arrives, you and your family could very quickly find yourselves on the brink of ruin.
Fortunately, help may be on the way. If you have suffered a catastrophic fall because of the negligence of a Manhattan property owner, turn to the Manhattan slip and fall attorneys at The Law Office of Richard M. Kenny, who have made a difference in the lives of thousands of New Yorkers just like you. Our firm has secured top outcomes in slip-and-fall accident cases, including:
- $3 million for a man who stumbled in a parking lot
- $975,000.00 for a woman who slipped on ice
- $775,000.00 for an individual who fell on broken pavement
If you choose to retain our firm, we will launch a thorough investigation into everyone responsible for your slip-and-fall accident. We have the deep familiarity with all applicable laws and building code regulations necessary to uncover actionable breaches of duty, and we can secure the materials demonstrating any breaches within the time allotted by law.
If evidence of wrongdoing by the defendants exists, our Manhattan slip and fall lawyers will work tirelessly to find it.
Get Compensated for All of Your Losses
Once we have assembled an airtight against the liable parties, we will negotiate directly with their insurance companies to reach a settlement that takes all of your losses into consideration, including:
- Medical bills – Remuneration may be available for the hospitalizations, surgeries, procedures, prescription drugs, assistive devices, and past, present, and future treatments associated with your slip-and-fall accident.
- Lost income – You may be compensated for the wages you lost because you were unable to work immediately after the fall, as well as for any diminishment to your long-term earning potential if you experience permanent disability.
- Pain and suffering – Non-economic detriments to your quality of living, such as pain and suffering and mental and emotional trauma, may be reflected in your verdict or settlement.
- Loss of consortium – Your spouse may be eligible to make a claim in the event of deprivation of the benefits of an intimate marital relationship secondary to fall-related injuries.
- Punitive damages – In order to discourage comparable misconduct from others, New York courts sometimes impose greater penalties on defendants who display “willful or wanton negligence” or a “high degree of moral turpitude.”
And if we do not receive an offer that is worthy of your case, we are not afraid to go before a judge or jury for a verdict that is. Unlike many of our competitors, who rarely, if ever, venture into a courtroom, our battle-tested litigators have fought for clients in hundreds of trials throughout Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx.
We Either Win Your Case or It’s Free
If you are concerned about spending more money when you can least afford to do so, you may be happy to discover that it will cost you nothing up front to hire our firm because we work on a contingency fee basis. Only if our Manhattan slip and fall attorneys bring your case to a favorable resolution will we seek reimbursement for our expenses and a fee for our services, usually as a percentage of your final compensation package. With Our No Fee Guarantee®, we either win your case or it’s free.
That fall may have seemed like it would knock you down for the count, but you can trust The Law Office of Richard M. Kenny to get you back on solid footing again.
Contact Our Manhattan Slip and Fall Lawyers Now
With over $350 million recovered in verdicts and settlements and over a century of combined experience, the Manhattan slip and fall lawyers at The Law Office of Richard M. Kenny have what it takes to get you and your family what you deserve.
You can arrange a free consultation with one of our dedicated Manhattan slip and fall attorneys now by calling (212) 421-0300 or filling out the form below.
