Slipping, tripping, and falling accidents could happen on any poorly maintained property, including private homes, grocery stores, parking lots, and restaurants. Expensive damages often accompany victims’ injuries, entitling them to compensation.
Many hazards could cause an accident, like poorly secured handrails, uneven flooring, dimly lit hallways, and icy steps or sidewalks. If you are hurt in a slipping or falling accident, you should first document the incident and your injuries. You can call 911 and request immediate medical care from paramedics or go straight to the emergency room. As victims recover physically, we can focus on their financial recoveries and ensure they file claims within the statute of limitations. We can also monitor victims’ losses so they get compensation for medical costs, missed wages, and non-economic damages.
To get a confidential and free case analysis, call the Yonkers, NY slip and fall lawyers of The Martello Law Firm, PLLC at (914) 685-6950.
Where Slip and Falls Happen in Nanuet, NY
Slipping accidents could happen anywhere, from residential homes to commercial businesses. In terms of exact locations, common spots for slips or falls include stairwells with broken handrails, poorly lit hallways, broken sidewalks, and cluttered floors.
Falling or tripping accidents in commercial establishments, like retail shops or restaurants, might happen in view of surveillance systems. In these situations, our slip and fall lawyers can promptly contact the owner, who may also be the liable party, to get video footage of the incident and ensure it is not deleted. If the owner refuses to provide the footage, we can subpoena it to ensure its preservation.
Why Slip and Falls Happen in Nanuet, NY
Slip and fall accidents typically occur because of poor property maintenance. For example, restaurant staff might fail to clean up a spill, creating a hazard for patrons that could lead to an accident. Because of vicarious liability, restaurant owners would most likely be responsible for victims’ damages in such situations.
Homeowners owe a duty of care to visitors just as business owners do. A homeowner’s duty includes keeping their home reasonably safe. Homeowners might fail to do this in various ways, such as not securing a loose railing or addressing a cracked floorboard, which could lead to serious falling or tripping injuries for victims.
Falls in apartment buildings often happen because landlords breach their duty of care. Most residential leases make maintaining common areas the landlord’s responsibility. This means that your landlord may be responsible for salting steps during winter to ensure they are not icy and to avoid slipping accidents. If you were to slip on icy steps because your landlord failed to salt them, they may be liable. The same is true for other injuries due to the landlord’s failure to uphold their duty of care and maintain the property.
What to Do When Slip and Falls Happen in Nanuet, NY
When slips, trips, or falls happen, victims should focus on documenting the accident and their injuries. Our attorneys can then help victims prepare their claims to file before the deadline and track their compensable damages from the accident.
Document the Accident and Your Injuries
Start by documenting the accident and your immediate injuries. Victims may call 911 to do this, as slipping and falling injuries often require immediate medical attention from paramedics. While you wait for paramedics to arrive, take pictures of the site and your injuries. If you tripped over a specific hazard, like a broken floorboard, photograph it. It is important to document the accident site as best you can so that our lawyers can prove the defendant’s negligence.
Victims often need treatment after going to the emergency room. Among the most common tripping accident injuries, fractures might take a long time to heal, requiring routine checkups with physicians to monitor victims’ recoveries. More serious injuries might require several surgeries or long-term physical therapy, and following physicians’ advice can lead to ample medical evidence for your claim.
Prepare Your Case for the Statute of Limitations
The statute of limitations for premises liability lawsuits in Nanuet is just three years, according to C.V.P. Law § 214(5). There are only a few exceptions, such as if a victim was a minor when the accident happened. The statute of limitations will also pause if the defendant leaves the state or intentionally conceals their identity from the plaintiff by using a false name, according to § 207. Missing the filing deadline would block you from getting any compensation for your injuries, so our lawyers will prepare your case to file it before the statute of limitations runs out.
Track Your Compensable Damages
Identifying and tracking compensable damages is crucial throughout a lawsuit, and our lawyers can initiate this process early on in your case. We can begin by organizing all medical charges from slipping accident injuries, starting with your first visit to the emergency room after the incident. All necessary medical expenses are compensable, including future costs not yet incurred.
We can also calculate your lost wages if you cannot return to work immediately. Our lawyers must review various documents, such as tax returns and employer records, to do this. We can get medical experts to testify that you cannot work at your previous level of employment. Experts can estimate when you might be able to return to the same earning capacity, which can also help you get compensation for future lost wages.
Non-economic damages are also compensable, but tracking them requires different tactics. Because these are intangible damages and difficult to quantify, our attorneys may seek support from mental health experts who can testify to your reduced quality of life and emotional distress. Victims can keep journals to log the pain and suffering they have experienced since an accident, which could help our lawyers prove and estimate their deserved non-economic damages.
Call Our Nanuet, NY Lawyers About Your Injury Case Today
Call The Martello Law Firm, PLLC at (914) 685-6950 for a free case assessment from our slip and fall lawyers.
