Complex Issues in Premises Liability Cases

A slip and fall can result in severe injuries, including serious, painful fractures of the ankles, wrists and hips, head neck and back injuries, and brain and spinal cord injuries. If the accident was caused due to some negligence on the part of the property owner, the injured party may be able to recover compensation for the harm caused. But there are many complex issues which may arise in a premises liability case, and the knowledge and skill of an experienced personal injury attorney is often critical to properly addressing these issues.

Responsible Parties

New York premises liability law requires that the property owner owes some duty to the plaintiff in order to be liable for the plaintiff’s accident. In the case of municipal liability, some sort of special relationship may be required. Generally speaking, though, a responsible party may be one who owns, operates, maintains or controls the property. This could be the owner or an agent, such as a landlord or property management company. What about a commercial tenant who leases a property where an accident occurs? Identifying the proper parties is essential to a successful recovery.

Notice

Did the property owner cause or create the condition? Did the owner have notice of the condition and have an opportunity to remedy the situation before the accident occurred? The answers to these questions can be critical to the case yet difficult to prove, sometimes requiring expert witnesses, accident investigation and reconstruction, and other methods. Related issues include whether the condition was open and obvious or inherently dangerous.

Third Parties

An example of a complicated situation is where the work of a third party such as a construction contractor remodels, repairs, or otherwise changes the premises, and that change creates the condition which later causes an injury. Is the property owner or the contractor liable to the injury victim, or are both of them potentially liable? One issue that may come into play is the level of control the property owner exercised over the contractor’s work. Rest assured that both parties will do their best to place the blame on the other, which could leave the plaintiff at risk of being left out in the cold.

If you have been injured on unsafe or dangerous property, trust your case to an attorney with experience obtaining verdicts and settlements with property owners in complicated situations. In New York City, contact New York premises liability attorney Leandros A. Vrionedes, P.C.