Premises Liability

Published on: January 23, 2019

New York Appellate Court Grants Summary Judgment to Defendant in Slip and Fall Case

Slip and fall accidents are all too common. A business may neglect to clean up snow and ice in a timely fashion, or an area grocery store may have an employee who doesn’t clean up a spill after being told to do so. These and many other scenarios can lead to a Syracuse premises liability lawsuit. Like other negligence actions, the plaintiff must be able to prove that the defendant breached a legal duty to him or her and that this was the proximate cause of his or her personal injuries in order to prevail at trial.

This can be a difficult proposition, especially if the allegedly dangerous condition was only present for a short time. Having effective legal representation can help improve the plaintiff’s chances of success on the merits of his or her claim.

Facts of the Case

The plaintiff in a recent case was a woman who sought monetary compensation for personal injuries she suffered during a slip and fall accident on the premises of an apartment building. She filed suit against the defendants, the owners of the building, seeking payment for her medical expenses, pain and suffering, and other damages resulting from the fall. According to the plaintiff, her fall occurred due to the wet condition of a staircase at the building, and the defendants either knew about the condition or, in the exercise of due diligence, should have known about it.

Published on: July 23, 2018

Stairway/Staircase Falls in Syracuse

by Jeff DeFrancisco

Stairs can become a safety hazard if they are not maintained properly. In fact, most stair related accidents would not happen if not for the carelessness of someone. If you have slipped and hurt yourself on stairs on someone else’s property, you may be entitled to compensation. At DeFrancisco & Falgiatano Personal Injury Lawyers, our hard-working Syracuse slip and fall attorneys will analyze the facts of your case and help you understand your legal rights and options.

The National Safety Council reports that over 1 million injuries occur every year as the result of stairway falls. In fact, staircase and stairway accidents are the second leading cause of accidental injury, falling behind only motor vehicle accidents. Nearly 100,000 children under the age of 5 suffer stair-related injuries on an annual basis. Dangerous stairway conditions can be the result of common wear and tear, negligent maintenance or even poor maintenance. Common causes of staircase hazards that can lead to accidents causing injury include, but are not limited to:

Loose or missing handrail,
Unevenly spaced risers;
Chipped, worn, cracked, broken or missing steps;
Poorly lit stairwells;
Slick or slippery stairs;
Debris or clutter on stairs;
Loose or damaged treads, runners or carpeting.

Published on: March 6, 2018

The Attractive Nuisance Doctrine in New York

by Jeff DeFrancisco

Children are curious by nature, and that can be a great asset when it comes to learning, but the same curiosity can put them in dangerous situations. If your child has been injured after wandering onto someone else’s property, you may be able to seek compensation for his or her injuries. At DeFrancisco & Falgiatano Personal Injury Lawyers, we understand the nuances of New York premises liability law and can apply our knowledge to use in your case. Our firm is passionate about advocating for the rights of the injured, and we will do our best to make sure your rights are protected at every step of the way.

Generally, those who enter another party’s property without permission are called trespassers under the law and given little legal protection if they are injured. There is, however, an exception to this rule when it comes to children, and property owners have some responsibility to a trespasser when that trespasser is a child. The attractive nuisance doctrine protects children injured on another person’s property. Put another way, the attractive nuisance doctrine holds a landowner accountable for injuries to children trespassing on the land if the injury is caused by an artificial dangerous object or condition on the land that is likely to attract children who are unable to appreciate the risks and hazards associated with that object or condition. The idea is that property owners should be able to foresee that children may enter the property if certain “attractions” are present, including but not limited to:

Swimming pools;

Published on: January 11, 2018

Slip and Fall Accidents Due to Ice in Syracuse and Throughout New York

by Jeff DeFrancisco

Winter in New York can be harsh. When a person slips and falls on ice, the injuries can be serious and long-lasting. In the most serious cases, the victim of the fall may require surgery. If you or someone close to you has suffered an injury after slipping and falling on ice on someone else’s property in Syracuse, you need to reach out to a skilled Syracuse premises liability attorney immediately. We can assess the circumstances of the fall and help you pursue the compensation you deserve for your harm.

A slip and fall accident occurs when a person is injured because a walking surface contains a dangerous condition (like ice) that causes a person to slip, trip, or fall. Many slip and falls on ice are results of a property owner’s negligence. In New York, both city and private property owners are required by law to clear ice and snow on the sidewalks abutting their property. Failing to clear snow from the sidewalk in front of the building or doing a poor job of clearing the snow or ice creates a hazard for anyone walking in the area. Property owners must clear snow and ice from the property in a “reasonable” amount of time to ensure walkways and high traffic areas are safe. According to the New York City Department of Sanitation, snow and ice must be removed no later than four hours after the end of the snowfall or no later than 11 a.m. if the snowfall ends after 9 p.m. the night before.

Slip and fall liability is generally rooted in the theory of negligence. Negligence takes place when an injury is a result of a property owner failing to use reasonable care. Reasonable care refers to the level of care that a prudent person would use in the same or similar circumstances. For instance, a property owner using reasonable care would make sure to clear a sidewalk properly so that there are no icy conditions that would lead to a fall. To establish negligence in a New York slip and fall case, the plaintiff must demonstrate the following:

Published on: March 28, 2017

4 tips for using scaffolding on construction jobs

by Jeff DeFrancisco

Scaffolding, which is part of many construction jobs, comes with its own unique set of risk factors. While it has the potential to help prevent accidents and to assist in getting a job done, it also has the potential to cause falls and injuries. Construction accidents caused by scaffolding are preventable. Here are four tips for working with scaffolding on a construction job.

1. Remember your hardhat

The first tip for workers is to remember to wear a hardhat any time the scaffolding is being dismantled or erected. There are many plates, screws and other items that have the potential to fall, which could impact workers below the scaffolding’s platform. Wearing a hardhat prevents dangerous concussions and head injuries from these falling items.

Published on: March 15, 2017

The many causes of commercial construction worker injuries

by Jeff DeFrancisco

Are you employed as a commercial construction worker? Do you enjoy your job? Do you also realize that you could be injured at any point?

As a commercial construction worker, it’s a must that you do whatever you can to avoid trouble on the job. You should also expect your employer to take steps to prevent an accident.

There are many causes of commercial construction worker injuries, including but not limited to the following;

Published on: June 7, 2016

Premises liability and damages: work with experienced advocate to maximize recovery

by Jeff DeFrancisco

Last time, we mentioned that the type of damages available in a premises liability case depends on the specific circumstances of the case. Damages, we noted, comes in several varieties, including those dealing with economic losses and non-economic losses, as well punitive damages.

Compensatory damages, sometimes called actual damages, relate to losses that are easily translated into monetary compensation. Such damages include things like lost wages, diminished earning capacity, medical expenses, and similar sorts of damages. Non-economic damages cover losses that are not easily monetized, such as pain, suffering and loss of enjoyment of life. Punitive damages are a category all their own.

While compensatory damages have the aim of repaying the accident victim for his or her injuries and losses, punitive damages are aimed at punishing the defendant in a civil context. Punitive damages are not available in ordinary cases, but only in cases involving particularly egregious conduct. Ordinary negligence does not make an accident victim entitled to punitive damages, but only conduct involving a high degree of moral culpability. Such damages are not ordinarily going to be awarded in premises liability cases, though it is possible.

Published on: May 31, 2016

Premises liability litigation and the need for experienced legal counsel, P.4

by Jeff DeFrancisco

In recent posts, we’ve been looking at the topic of premises liability and strategies property owners sometimes use to minimize their liability. From what we’ve said thus far, it should be fairly clear why it is important to work with experienced legal counsel in seeking compensation from a negligent property owner.

First of all, property owners cannot be expected to take responsibility for their negligence when an accident occurs on their property. This is especially true in cases where the injured party may have failed to take reasonable care in some way or can be said to have assumed the risk by participating in a sporting or recreational activity. Having an advocate is necessary to ensure a negligent property owner is not successful in refusing to take responsibility.

Second, premises liability goes beyond slip and fall cases and encompasses situations involving violent crime and theft, food poisoning, and construction accidents. It is important to have guidance and advocacy in cases like these where premises liability may be a less obvious cause of action.

Published on: May 29, 2016

Premises liability litigation and the need for experienced legal counsel, P.3

by Jeff DeFrancisco

This is our fourth post in a series dealing with the topic of premises liability. We’ve already looked briefly at premises liability claims in general, as well as the issues of comparative negligence and assumption of risk in the context of premises liability.

So called “slip and fall” cases are among the most common types of premises liability claims. Case law in New York has established several viable defenses for property owners faced with potential premises liability in slip and fall cases. First of all, a plaintiff must be able to prove the existence of a dangerous or defective condition on the property which led to his or her injury. A plaintiff who cannot who cannot provide sufficient evidence to establish such a condition may not hold the property owner liable.

Not only must there have been a defective condition on the property, but the defect must a certain character to it. Two important defenses deal with the nature of the defect. First of all, the defect must not have been trivial. What exactly constitutes trivial is a matter for a jury to decide, and there are factors that are supposed to be taken into account. The basic idea, though, is that not every technically defective condition is sufficient to give rise to a claim of negligence.

Published on: May 28, 2016

Premises liability litigation and the need for experienced legal counsel, P.2

by Jeff DeFrancisco

In our last post, we began looking at the principles of assumption of risk and comparative fault in premises liability cases. In the state of New York, premises liability is based on negligence, which is the failure to carry out a legal duty owed to another.

While some states make premises liability dependent on the classes of persons who are on the premises—whether they are invitees, trespassers, licensees—New York law focuses more on reasonableness of conduct under the circumstances of the case. Speaking generally, though, a landowner or business owner will be liable when he or she created a dangerous or defective condition which causes an accident or when he or she had notice of the condition and failed to take action to address it in a reasonable amount of time.

Notice of a dangerous condition may be either actual or constructive, the difference being that constructive notice may be found when a specific defect in the property is visible and apparent and exists for a long enough time that the property owner should have discovered it and taken steps to address it.