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Premises Liability

People frequently suffer serious injuries when they trip and fall due to dangerous conditions. If you slip and fall or trip and fall on someone else’s property and sustain an injury, you may be able to receive financial compensation.

A broken stairway in a restaurant, a patch of ice on the sidewalk, a broken curb outside a store or a puddle of liquid inside a supermarket can cause a serious injury that could cause you severe pain and suffering in both the short-term – and may negatively impact you for the rest of your life. Here at Matsikoudis & Fanciullo, we have dealt with many variations of this claim and understand the process, the pain, suffering and emotions you are experiencing, and how to put you in position to hold the responsible party or parties accountable.

Under certain circumstances, a property owner can be held liable – and forced to pay you – for injuries you suffered due to a trip- or slip-and-fall due to a dangerous condition.  We have successfully represented clients in both trip-and-fall and slip-and-fall cases and we would be honored if you considered Matsikoudis & Fanciullo to represent you on your case.

Our initial consultation is free and, in these cases, we generally work on a contingency fee basis, which means you do not pay any fee unless and until we are successful in getting money for you.

What You Need to Know

If you can prove that a potentially liable party acted negligently, either on it own or through an employee and caused your fall, you may be entitled to financial compensation.  Negligence is closely tied to the idea of “reasonable behavior.”  Therefore, if the potentially liable party failed to behave “reasonably,” that party may be found negligent – and may be forced to pay you for the injuries you have suffered.

 

Case Types

There are two main types of cases in which a defendant party may have failed to live up to “reasonable behavior”:

  • where they failed to notice or fix a dangerous condition, and
  • where they actually caused a dangerous condition.

 

Here are some factors to consider when trying to determine whether a party was negligent:

  • Did the dangerous condition exist long enough that a reasonable person would have taken action to make it safer? For instance, a spill on a grocery store floor that happened seconds before the accident may not impose liability but a spill that was left uncleaned for an hour in front of the owner may impose liability.
  • Was there a good reason for the existence of the danger? For instance, floor/sidewalk panels removed temporarily for repair reasons and properly demarcated with warnings versus damaged or uneven walking spaces.
  • Did the property owner have a policy of routinely checking for hazards on their property and, if so, is there a record that such a procedure was followed? In New Jersey, a business owner has a duty to conduct proactive inspections to protect patrons (i.e. those like you) from dangerous conditions.
  • Was the property properly lit? Lighting is especially important in staircases or other areas where a person could catch their foot on an edge.
  • Could the dangerous condition have been made less dangerous? Whether through the posting of warning signs, preventing access, or other means?

 

Proving Negligence

If you can prove that the defending party was negligent and that their negligence caused your fall, you can be entitled to recover (remember it is important that both of these “prongs” are provable).  Another common defense property owners and managers may attempt is to say that you, the plaintiff, are partially or fully responsible for causing the accident by failing to live up to reasonable behavior on your part.  Some of the following factors might affect whether this defense can apply:

 

  • Were you distracted from noticing a danger that otherwise you could have avoided? For example if you were texting while walking and failing to see a warning sign.
  • Did you have lawful access or a legitimate reason to be in the dangerous area? For instance, falling in an “employees only” warehouse versus inside a restaurant during open hours could be the determining factor.
  • Did you ignore warning signs or rope/tape markers?

 

If the defendant is successful in arguing that you behaved unreasonably, it can lower the total amount you recover, or prevent you from recovering at all.  Ultimately, you are most likely to be entitled to financial compensation if you fell through, no fault of your own, due to the negligent behavior of a property owner or manager or their employees.

 

Frequently Asked Questions:

Q: What can I recover?

A: Commonly, those injured in a trip- or slip-and-fall can recover the amount spent on medical expenses, lost wages, as well as possibly for pain and suffering. However, as with most legal claims, the amount recovered in a successful lawsuit depends on a number of factors such as:

  • Your income
  • How much your life has been impacted by the injury
  • What your injury-related expenses were

 

Q: What should I do if I have suffered a trip- or slip-and-fall?

A: There are many things you should do if you have recently been injured. These include:

  • Start making a record of all the money you spend because of the injury. Things such as taxis/Ubers (or other ride sharing services), medical bills, loss of income, etc.
  • If possible, take photos of the where you were injured as soon as you are able to safely do so. Sometimes the condition that caused your injury can change over time and a picture is worth a thousand words.
  • If possible, take a look around the area and make a note of any security cameras in the area, they may have captured the accident.
  • Keep a diary of your injuries and how they change over time and impact your life.
  • Contact an attorney as soon as possible. Having an attorney involved could prevent you from making a mistake that could lower your recovery amount.