Long Island Premises Liability

Property owners and managers have the responsibility to make sure that their property is safe so that people who enter the property are not harmed. This is the case regardless of whether the property owner is the government, a business, or an individual. This is also the case regardless of whether the property is a building such as a store or a house, or outside property such as a parking lot or a walkway. When property owners fail to make sure that their property is safe, catastrophic injuries can result to those entering the property unaware of the danger. Some common hazards that property owners and managers tend ignore include icy sidewalks, broken rails, ripped carpet, loose steps, and spills. These types of hazards can lead unsuspecting victims to fall and suffer serious injuries such back or brain injuries. Such injuries often cause the victims and their families to face financial problems due to the medical bills and due to the victim missing work. There are legal options that may result in financial help to victims. To learn more about these options, if you were injured because of an unsafe condition on the property of another person, contact an experienced Staten Island premises liability lawyer who stand up to the negligent property owner and demand compensation on your behalf.

Owners of private, commercial and public property are required to take reasonable steps to make sure that their premises are safe. Common hazards that property owners tend to overlook and that end up causing injury:

• Broken stairways: Loose steps, broken rails, no handrails, torn carpet
• Uneven surfaces: Broken pavement, potholes, loose floor boards
• Negligent security: Poor lighting inside and outside, lack of security where appropriate
• Wet or slippery surfaces: Spills, improperly waxed floors, ice on sidewalks, driveways and parking lots can lead to slip and fall accidents
• Debris on the floor: Spills, fallen merchandise
• Building code or housing code violations

Typically responsibility for ensuring the safety of a premises belongs to the property owner. However, the responsibility may fall on another person or may be shared by multiple people. Examples of people who may be responsible for keeping property free of hazards include:

• Owner
• Manager
• Lessee
• Landlord
• Contractor working on the property
• Another third party

If you suffered a serious injury on another person's property and you believe it was caused by the negligence of another person, then you can hold the negligent person accountable by naming that person as the defendant in a personal injury claim. As a premises liability attorney in Long Island will explain, you can demand that the person pay you compensation for the losses you suffered. Compensable losses include medical expenses, lost income, and pain and suffering.

In order to prevail in your claim, you must have evidence to support your claim that you suffered losses. For example, to prove medical expenses you need to have receipts from payments to your doctor, the hospital, pharmacy, rehabilitation facility and for any other related medical expenses. If you are making a claim for lost wages you need to have evidence from your employer of the pay you lost and of other benefits you lost. If you are self-employed, you must be able to show the revenue you lost while being unable to operate your business.

Evidence of emotional suffering for a pain and suffering claim can be testimony from friends and relatives about your change in personality and mood swings. Evidence from a mental health professional that you are suffering from depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, inability to sleep, anger, or fear would also support a claim for pain and suffering.

In order to pursue a premises liability claim it is critical that you contact a premises liability attorney serving Long Island who has the experience and resources to represent you in your lawsuit. The staff at the Law Offices of Stephen Bilkis & Associates is experienced in handling personal injury and wrongful death cases stemming from slip and fall accidents, trip and fall accidents, and other accidents that result from unsafe premises. Contact us at 800.696.9529 to schedule a free, no obligation consultation regarding your case. We represent clients in the following locations: the Bronx, Brooklyn, Long Island, Manhattan, Nassau County, Queens, Staten Island, Suffolk County and Westchester County.