Long Island Premises Liability Lawyers

St James NY firm holds negligent property owners accountable

Property owners and occupiers in New York have a legal duty to make their premises reasonably safe for people who may be expected to enter. Preventable accidents occur when those in control of a property fail to take appropriate safety measures. If you sustained an injury due to a slip and fall or other accident on someone else’s property, the Long Island premises liability lawyers at Jakubowski, Robertson, Maffei, Goldsmith & Tartaglia, LLP in St. James can investigate the incident, identify the parties at fault and help you obtain the financial compensation you deserve. 

What is a premises liability lawsuit?

Premises liability is legal responsibility for an injury caused by an incident on someone’s property. When a property owner, tenant or other persons or organization in control of a premises fails in their duty to keep the site reasonably safe, they can be made to answer in damages to an injured party.

Premises liability lawsuits can arise over any of the following:

• Slip/trip and fall accidents
• Falling merchandise accidents
• Dog bites
• Negligent security
• Elevator accidents
• Fires
• Structural collapses

In all such cases, the lawsuit alleges that harm resulted from a hazard on the property that the owner did not properly address.

What is needed to prove fault in a NY premises liability lawsuit?

Elements common to a premises liability case include:

• A party with ownership and/or control over premises
• A hazard on the premises that is either hidden or cannot be avoided using ordinary caution
• An injury that occurs as a direct result of the visitor encountering the hazard

For example, if you went to the supermarket and slipped on a wet floor, injuring yourself, the spill may have constituted a hidden hazard that is grounds for asserting a premises liability claim.

The pivotal question is whether the property owner’s failure to address a hazard was unreasonable. The answer usually turns on whether the owner took such measures as:

• Inspecting for hidden hazards
• Implementing protocols for dealing with foreseeable hazards
• Warning about the hazard
• Removing or remediating the hazard

An owner who knew or should have known about the hazard but did not take reasonably effective measures in a timely manner would be liable for the injuries.

How a Long Island premises liability lawyer obtains compensation for victims

Whether your injury involves a deck collapse, a slip and fall or a dog bite, a premises liability lawsuit must establish that the property owner breached its duty to keep the premises safe for visitors. This might consist of failing to address dry rot in a structure, leaving floors wet or greasy or letting a poorly socialized dog roam free on the premises.

Evidence of owner negligence can include:

• Witness testimony
• Photos of the accident scene, featuring the hazard
• Maintenance records
• Business procedures related to the hazard, such as inspection schedules 
• Timeline of events leading up to the accident

In addition to proving negligence, the attorney must establish damages by assembling medical records and consulting medical experts. 

Filing a premises liability case in New York

Victims of premises accidents cannot effectively pursue damages claims on their own. Proof of liability is complex because many variables can contribute to determine whether a landlord was negligent. Additionally, defendants often try to shift blame to plaintiffs, alleging they failed to exercise due caution. Under New York comparative negligence law, a victim’s damages can be reduced in accordance with their percentage of fault. Claimants without attorneys are likely to be shortchanged in any settlement discussions. Plaintiffs with legal counsel fare much better, even after paying the attorney’s fee.

Contact a knowledgeable Long Island premises liability attorney 

Jakubowski, Robertson, Maffei, Goldsmith & Tartaglia, LLP in St. James, New York represents clients in premises liability actions on Long Island. Call 631-360-0400 or contact us online to schedule a consultation.