A fall caused by an unsafe property condition can leave you facing serious injuries, medical treatment, missed work, and lasting limitations.
The Buffalo Injury Law Firm represents people injured in slip and fall and trip and fall accidents throughout New York State. These cases often depend on details that can disappear quickly. This includes the condition of the area, inspection records, video, and evidence showing who controlled the property.
Attorney Max Adler and our team focus on determining how the accident happened, who was responsible for the area, and what evidence supports your claim. We examine ownership, occupancy, control, inspection, maintenance, repair responsibilities, leases, contracts, prior complaints, and records showing how the condition developed.
If you were hurt in a slip and fall accident, contact The Buffalo Injury Law Firm today online or at 716-646-8412.
Do You Have a Slip and Fall Injury Claim in New York State?
A premises liability claim may arise when a property owner creates a hazardous condition. It may also arise when the owner fails to address a condition after receiving legally sufficient notice.
The specific duties involved depend on the property, the parties responsible for it, and the circumstances of the accident. The facts may also determine whether a dangerous condition existed and which party had responsibility for addressing it.
A case can turn on questions that are easy to overlook. Who owned the property? Who occupied or controlled the area? Who handled inspections, cleaning, repairs, or snow removal? Did a lease or service contract assign those responsibilities to another party?
The investigation also examines whether the defendant created the condition or had actual notice of it. It also considers constructive notice when the condition remained visible, apparent, and existed long enough for discovery.
Who Can Be Responsible for a Slip and Fall Accident?
More than one party may have responsibility for a fall, depending on the property and the circumstances.
Property Owners
Ownership can create responsibilities concerning reasonably safe premises, but ownership alone does not determine liability. The investigation must also examine possession, control, maintenance duties, and any contractual allocation of responsibility.
Property Managers and Occupants
Property owner negligence may involve failures involving inspection, maintenance, repairs, cleaning, or other responsibilities assigned to the owner. A management company, tenant, or other occupant may control cleaning, inspections, repairs, or daily operations. Their role can become important when the owner has transferred particular maintenance responsibilities through a lease or other agreement.
Contractors and Maintenance Companies
A contractor may become relevant when its work involves cleaning, repairs, snow removal, construction, or another condition connected to the accident.
A maintenance or snow removal contract does not automatically make the contractor liable to someone injured on the property. New York courts examine the scope of the contractor’s work and whether its conduct created or increased the hazard, whether the injured person reasonably relied on its continued performance, or whether the contractor completely assumed another party’s responsibility to maintain the premises safely.
Government Entities
A public property claim can involve different requirements from a claim against a private property owner. The specific governmental entity, location, legal duty, notice requirements, and applicable statute must be identified before determining whether a claim can proceed.
Where Do Slip and Fall Accidents Commonly Happen?
Slip and fall and trip and fall accidents can occur in many locations, including:
- Grocery stores
- Retail businesses
- Restaurants and hotels
- Apartment buildings
- Offices and parking lots
- Sidewalks and stairways
- Private homes
Common hazards may include a wet floor, uneven pavement, broken stairs, or inadequate lighting. Other hazards include loose carpeting, leaking fixtures, debris, ice, and slippery surfaces.
What Does “Actual or Constructive Notice” Mean?
New York law distinguishes between actual notice and constructive notice.
Actual notice generally means the defendant knew about the specific condition before the accident. Evidence may include complaints, employee observations, incident reports, photographs, or other records showing prior knowledge.
Constructive notice can exist when a condition was visible and apparent and remained present long enough for the defendant to discover and correct it through reasonable inspection.
The timing of inspections can therefore matter. Courts may examine when the area was last inspected or cleaned, what employees observed, prior complaints, and whether records establish the property’s condition before the accident.
Evidence showing what the property owner knew or reasonably should have discovered can become important when notice is disputed.
A defendant may also face a different analysis when it created the condition itself. In that situation, the issue is not simply whether the defendant received notice of a condition created by someone else.
What Should You Do After a Slip and Fall Accident?
If you were injured in a fall, start by protecting your health and preserving information about the accident. Early evidence preservation can matter because surveillance footage may be overwritten, and hazardous conditions can change.
Take practical steps that preserve information about the accident and your injuries.
- Report the accident: Notify the property manager, business, landlord, or appropriate representative and request an incident report.
- Document the location: Take photographs of the exact area, surrounding conditions, lighting, signs, and other relevant details before the condition changes.
- Seek medical care: Obtain appropriate medical attention and keep records of treatment, restrictions, expenses, and follow-up care.
- Preserve personal items: Keep the shoes and clothing involved in the accident in their post-accident condition.
- Identify witnesses: Record names and contact information for people who saw the accident or the condition beforehand.
- Avoid speculation: Provide necessary information without guessing about how long the condition existed or how your injuries may develop.
- Request a case review: Contact a slip and fall injury lawyer so that the accident, evidence, responsible parties, and deadlines can be evaluated.
Do not attempt to collect samples from a floor, surface, or other hazardous condition yourself. The priority is preserving the scene through documentation and allowing the appropriate parties to investigate it safely.
What Evidence Should Be Preserved After a Slip and Fall?
Evidence can disappear when a property is cleaned, repaired, altered, or renovated. The most useful evidence often concerns the condition itself and the defendant’s knowledge of that condition.
Important evidence may include:
- Scene photographs and video showing the condition and surrounding area.
- Surveillance and security camera footage from businesses, buildings, entrances, or nearby locations showing the area before and after the accident.
- Incident reports and employee records concerning the fall.
- Inspection, cleaning, maintenance, and repair records.
- Prior complaints or reports involving the same condition or location.
- Witness statements describing the condition, accident, or events beforehand.
- Leases, contracts, and maintenance agreements assigning responsibility for the area.
- Weather records and property records in snow and ice cases.
- Medical records and employment documentation establishing injury-related losses.
The goal is to preserve evidence that can answer two questions: what caused the fall, and what did the responsible party know or reasonably have discovered beforehand?
How Do We Investigate a Slip and Fall Case?
Premises cases often turn on records and responsibilities that are not obvious from the accident scene. Our investigation focuses on reconstructing those facts before important evidence becomes unavailable.
We Determine Who Controlled the Area
We identify the property’s owner, occupant, manager, or maintenance provider, reviewing relevant leases, contracts, and property records to establish who was legally responsible for the specific location.
We Investigate How the Condition Developed
We examine whether the defendant created the condition or whether someone else caused it. For a wet floor, for example, the investigation may examine whether a leaking fixture, cleaning activity, tracked-in water, or spilled liquid caused the condition and who knew about it.
We Investigate Notice
We look for evidence showing when the condition appeared and whether anyone knew about it. Prior complaints, employee reports, inspection records, cleaning logs, maintenance records, and similar conditions can help establish what the defendant knew or should reasonably have discovered.
We Preserve Time-Sensitive Evidence
Property conditions can change shortly after an accident, while records or video may later become unavailable. We identify evidence that may need prompt preservation, including video, photographs, inspection records, maintenance documentation, incident reports, and relevant communications.
We Examine Snow and Ice Evidence
Winters can create difficult questions about the timing and source of an icy condition. We may examine weather records, photographs, witness accounts, maintenance records, and other evidence to determine when the condition developed and whether the defendant had a reasonable opportunity to address it.
How Do Snow and Ice Affect a Slip and Fall Claim?
Snow and ice cases require careful analysis of how the condition formed, when it existed, and whether the defendant had a reasonable opportunity to address it.
Snow accumulation may result from ongoing precipitation, melting and refreezing, inadequate removal, or another source. Determining the source can matter because the defendant’s responsibilities may depend on how and when the condition developed.
New York’s storm-in-progress doctrine can limit a property owner’s duty to remove precipitation while a storm is ongoing. The rule does not automatically resolve every snow or ice case. Courts may consider whether:
- A storm was actually in progress.
- The condition resulted from that storm.
- A preexisting condition existed before the storm.
- The defendant had a reasonable opportunity to address the hazard.
New York courts generally recognize that a property owner may have a reasonable period to address snow or ice after a storm ends.
The investigation may also examine whether snow or ice removal efforts created or worsened a dangerous condition. Plowing, shoveling, drainage, melting, and refreezing can therefore become important factual issues.
What Injuries and Losses Can Result From a Slip and Fall?
A serious fall can cause injuries that require emergency care, surgery, rehabilitation, medication, or continuing treatment.
Common injuries may include:
- Head injuries and traumatic brain injuries
- Fractures and broken bones
- Sprains and strains
- Back and spinal injuries
- Shoulder and knee injuries
- Soft tissue injuries
- Cuts and other traumatic injuries
Depending on the circumstances, losses may include medical expenses, lost income, reduced earning capacity, future treatment costs, and pain and suffering.
What Damages May Be Available in a Slip and Fall Claim?
The damages available in a case depend on the evidence, injuries, liability, and applicable law.
Economic Damages
Potential economic losses may include:
- Medical treatment and related expenses
- Lost wages and employment income
- Future medical care and rehabilitation
- Reduced earning capacity
- Necessary out-of-pocket expenses
Noneconomic Damages
Where legally available, damages may include:
- Physical pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Permanent limitations
- Reduced quality of life
What New York Laws and Deadlines Can Affect Your Slip and Fall Case?
The applicable deadline depends on the defendant, property, legal theory, and circumstances of the accident.
How Long Do You Have to File a Private Slip and Fall Lawsuit?
For many personal injury actions against private defendants, CPLR § 214 provides a three-year limitations period. Exceptions can apply, so the specific defendant and circumstances should be reviewed before relying on that general period.
What If the Fall Happened on Government Property?
Claims against governmental entities can involve additional requirements that do not apply to ordinary private property claims.
For claims against public corporations where General Municipal Law § 50-e applies, a notice of claim generally must be served within 90 days after the claim arises. General Municipal Law § 50-i generally requires covered actions against a city, county, town, village, fire district, or school district to be commenced within 1 year and 90 days.
Those rules do not apply identically to every governmental entity or public authority. A claim involving the State, a public authority, a school, or another governmental body may require analysis under a different statute.
Can You Recover If You Were Partly Responsible?
New York generally permits recovery in negligence actions despite comparative fault, but a claimant’s recovery can be reduced based on the claimant’s share of culpable conduct.
The effect of comparative fault depends on the claim and applicable law. The evidence should establish each party’s conduct rather than assuming that a percentage can be determined from the accident alone.
Why Choose The Buffalo Injury Law Firm?
Premises cases often turn on details that disappear quickly or remain buried in property records. Our approach starts with those details and follows the evidence wherever it leads.
1. Identify Key Responsibilities Early
Notice and control often become central issues in premises litigation. We secure evidence such as property records, maintenance agreements, inspection logs, and incident reports to show what the defendant knew or should have discovered.
2. Preserve Evidence Before Conditions Change
A hazard can disappear before its legal significance becomes clear. We focus early on preserving available video, photographs, property records, and other evidence that may establish the condition and surrounding circumstances.
3. Develop the Case With Litigation in Mind
Our litigation experience shapes how we investigate premises cases from the beginning. We identify disputed facts, evidentiary gaps, notice issues, responsibility under leases or contracts, and damages questions before determining how the claim should proceed.
4. Max Adler Stays Connected to the Case
Max Adler remains involved in significant decisions as the case develops. His involvement helps maintain a consistent understanding of the evidence, legal issues, and strategy from the initial investigation through resolution.
5. Treat Your Circumstances With Integrity
A premises injury can affect your health, work, finances, and daily responsibilities. We approach those circumstances with honesty, compassion, dignity, and respect while keeping the legal work focused on the evidence.
What Happens If a Slip and Fall Claim Does Not Settle?
A claim may resolve through negotiation, but some cases require litigation when liability, damages, or the value of the claim remains disputed.
- Filing the Lawsuit: In New York, an action generally begins by filing a summons and complaint or summons with notice. The defendant must then be served in accordance with the applicable procedural rules.
- Discovery: The parties exchange information and evidence relevant to the accident and injuries. Discovery may involve document requests, interrogatories, depositions, photographs, maintenance records, leases, contracts, and other case materials.
- Motions and Settlement Discussions: The parties may address legal issues through motions while continuing settlement discussions or mediation.
- Trial: If the case remains unresolved, the court may conduct a trial where the parties present evidence concerning liability and damages.
The litigation process depends on the facts and procedural posture of each case. No particular outcome or timeline can be guaranteed.