Articles Posted in Premises Liability

When a snowstorm hits, many people take cover until it passes. Sometimes it’s the best option in order to avoid injuries due to slippery roads and sidewalks. Once the snowstorm subsides, the city works hard to clear the roads and sidewalks so that people can start commuting without a fear of being injured.

While we may sit around and wait for the city to do its job, it’s important for private entities to do their job as well. A company cannot rely on the city to clean its private parking lots or the sidewalks leading up to their property. Unfortunately, all too often, companies neglect to follow through on their duty to keep their property safe, leading to injuries.

And while the winter season can be notorious for slip-and-fall accidents, these types of accidents can happen during any time of the year. There may be various hazards that can cause someone to fall, such as spilled food, leaking water, unsecure rugs, and poorly maintained stairs.

Premises liability cases happen as a result of many types of unsafe environments around the city. New York City and its surrounding areas are known for cramped spaces filled with heavy foot traffic at all times of the day. A person cannot enter the city without encountering one of its less-appealing structures: scaffolding.

For those living in New York City, it may feel like scaffolding is everywhere. Scaffolding is a temporary structure that is used by companies in order to repair or clean a building. It may also be used to build a new structure.

It’s understandable that these structures can be quite frustrating to those who live near them. In fact, according to one news article, there are about 190 miles of scaffolding, or sheds, as some call them, across the state. In total, there are some 9,000 sheds on the state’s city streets according to the Department of Buildings.

In our last post we discussed the basics of premises liability in New York and what steps one should take when they are injured on someone else’s property. Although a premises liability lawsuit may seem like a difficult undertaking, it may be worth your while if you have suffered substantial injuries. Not only may you be dealing with piling medical bills but you also may be missing work as you recover from your injuries.

While some cases are pretty basic, with an injury happening on a property where you were invited to be, others become a little more complicated. For example, what if you were on the property illegally or the property owner was not aware that you were there in the first place?

In most cases, if you were trespassing on someone’s property, that individual doesn’t owe you a duty of care and will not be liable for any injuries that occurred on that property. This is even true if the owner knew about the dangerous conditions. But there are a few exceptions.

We hear about premises liability cases quite frequently, especially in New York. Most of the ones that make the news have to do with commercial properties and serious injuries resulting from slip and fall accidents or falling objects. But premises liability is a broad topic that can include a variety of injury types and can happen in a multitude of different locations.

According to the New York City Bar website, if someone is injured while lawfully on another person’s property, the owner may be liable for those injuries if negligence is involved on the part of the owner. There are several elements that need to be proven in a premises liability case. First, it needs to be shown that the victim was on the property lawfully. In some rare circumstances, a person may be on the property unlawfully and still receive compensation for injuries. We will discuss this issue more in our next post.

Secondly, there has to be proof that the property owner’s negligence led to the unsafe conditions. This may mean, for example, that the owner knew about the issue and never fixed it or fixed it but did not do so in a way that made it safe.

When you think about the diners and eateries featured on Food Network’s “Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives,” there are many quirky restaurants featured; but the common theme with all of these restaurants is that they have great food, great service and great stories about how they were founded.

One diner in the Ozark region of Missouri has a unique tradition of tossing rolls to its customers. The tradition at Lambert’s Café began when an overwhelmed owner could not reach everyone in the café with his trademark rolls. One customer said “hey, throw it to me,” and a tradition was born.

Lambert’s Café even began to be known as the “Home of the Throwed Rolls.” However, this moniker may change after a customer was injured by a thrown roll. 

It is unusual to talk about shopping center disasters outside of Black Friday sales, but invariably shoppers can be hurt in stores even without a crush of people involved. Last week, shoppers at a Walmart in Florida were exposed to carbon monoxide and were taken to the hospital. In all, 13 shoppers were treated for poisoning.

According to an ABC News.com report, carbon monoxide levels were at critical levels by 4:00 a.m. at the 24-hour Walmart in Orange County. While the cause of the incident is still under investigation, officials believe that construction workers using propane tools while inside the store may have caused fumes to collect in the store. 

Indeed, the small number of shoppers in the store at the time prevented this from being a disaster. First responders treated employees working in the store, but other shoppers reportedly refused treatment.

Imagine you are at a beach house at the Hamptons or at a lake front home in central New York enjoying a holiday barbeque. The host asks everyone to gather on the deck for a picture, and everyone obliges. While everyone poses, the deck gives way, sending everyone to the ground below. While this is a nightmare scenario, it actually happened at a home in North Carolina over the weekend.

According to an ABC News.com report, a family from Virginia was visiting the home where about 14 people were gathering for a family photo when the deck they were gathering on collapsed. A 12 by 12 section of the deck gave way, sending the people nearly a 12 feet to the surface below. Family members suffered a variety of injuries, from cuts and scratches to broken bones. 

Due to the number of injuries, several emergency response agencies were called in to treat all the people injured. It remains to be seen how some of the injured parties will recover, but the more immediate questions surround who may have been at fault for the accident.

The Fourth of July weekend was an epic celebration of civic pride and patriotism where scores of people enjoyed fireworks displays and individual shows at residential homes. While most went off without a hitch, some people were injured. They ranged from minor injuries to severe ones. Also, there were also reports of homes being damaged because of fireworks being set off. 

When these things happen, it is important for accident victims to understand that they have rights. If a homeowner failed to use reasonable care while setting off fireworks and a guest was injured because of such a failure, the homeowner could be held liable for the guest’s injuries. This means that the guest could seek compensation for their injuries.

While this is the basic concept behind negligence cases, proving negligence is not always simple. The following information could be helpful in proving your case should a lawsuit be needed to assert your rights. 

In our last post, we highlighted the dangers that young children, and some adults alike, face when at the water park or at someone’s backyard pool. Essentially, people who are not strong swimmers could be in distress and supervisory people may not even know it. And to avoid a tragedy, homeowners and park personnel both have a duty to use reasonable care in making sure a person does not drown.

However, drownings are not the only concerns facing water parks, public pools are even some homeowners. The chemical balance in the water must strong enough to ward off algae and other germs, but the chlorine must not be harmful to patrons. According to an ABC News.com report, more than 40 people were sickened at a northern California public pool. 

The victims, mostly children were likely exposed to high levels of sodium hypochlorite, a form of chlorine that is used to treat swimming pools. Officials investigating the incident reported that 17 people were taken to the hospital and were later released. 23 other people were treated onsite.

As we have noted in a number of our posts, summer is the time for road trips. But for those who like enjoying the outdoors without driving hundreds of miles to a destination, a pool party would likely do the trick. But for people who open their homes for these parties, it is important to know and understand the safety responsibilities homeowners have.

Essentially, homeowners have a duty to use reasonable care in making sure that the property is safe for guests when they come over. Also, the must act as a reasonable person would in supervising people, especially children, when they are swimming. Indeed, the supervisory people may not need to have life-saving skills certificates as common lifeguards would have at a public swimming pool, but they should have a basic understanding of how to spot a person who is in distress.

This post will identify a few telltale signs of someone in danger.