Slip and Fall Lawyers NYC

After a serious slip-and-fall accident, you may be struggling to cope with excruciating pain, seemingly endless medical appointments, and stressful financial burdens associated with your injury. Particularly if you can’t work due to your injuries, the frustrations can mount as you try to figure out how to keep up with everyday expenses on top of your medical bills.

If a property owner’s or manager’s negligence led to your injury, you should know that you have a legal right to demand compensation for the losses you have suffered. The top-rated NYC slip-and-fall lawyers at Belluck & Fox can explain your rights in a free consultation. Our law firm is widely recognized for recovering maximum compensation for clients in complex slip-and-fall claims, and we are ready to fight for you.

Call our New York City law office at (212) 681-1575 to get started today.

Why Choose Our NYC Personal Injury Law Firm?

• Established law firm in New York City with more than 20 years of experience handling a wide range of premises liability claims
• Long track record of success, recovering more than $1 billion for personal injury victims and their families
• Highly recommended by satisfied clients and fellow legal professionals
• Top-quality representation and compassionate service

Protect Your Rights After a Slip and Fall Accident

After an injury on someone else’s property, there are some steps you can take to protect your health and your right to compensation. Our top-ranked NYC slip-and-fall lawyers encourage you to:

• Seek professional medical treatment as soon as possible. Some injuries are immediately apparent, while others may be internal, with symptoms worsening over time.
• Tell the property owner or manager about what happened. Ask for a written report of the accident, or submit your own report in writing. However, you should not discuss the situation in detail. Just give the basic facts of what happened and refer future communication about the matter to your lawyer.
• Take photos of the accident scene, including any slippery surfaces, tripping hazards, etc., that led to your fall.
• Write down exactly what you remember about the accident as soon as possible. This will ensure all details are documented in case your memory begins to fade.
• Ask any witnesses for their names and phone numbers so your attorney can reach out to them later. Also get the names and contact information for any law enforcement officers or emergency medical technicians who respond to the scene.
• Save every bit of evidence that may prove relevant in your case. This includes the shoes and clothing you had on at the time of the fall.

As soon as possible, contact an experienced NYC slip-and-fall accident attorney to explain what happened and learn about your next steps. Your attorney can take over all communication with the at-fault party and begin building a strong case for the full compensation you will need to heal.

Duties of Property Owners

Property owners and those who rent space in buildings have a duty to take reasonable precautions to prevent injuries anddeaths caused by negligence from happening. This is especially true when they have been notified of a dangerous condition. Property owners and building managers are also responsible for making repairs to dangerous spots on their premises within a timely manner.

An owner or property manager is negligent when he or she knows about an unsafe situation ─ or should have known about it ─ but fails to address the danger. For example, this could mean failing to clean up spills, not providing adequate lighting, not properly maintaining handrails in stairwells, or failing to ensure carpet is secured in place with no bumps or tears.

What Do You Have to Prove in a Slip and Fall Claim?

In order to be successful, your NYC premises liability attorney will need to show that the property owner, manager or another at-fault party was negligent. This will entail proving that:

• You were on the property legally. Or if you were trespassing, the owner knew it.
• The property owner or at-fault party knew (or should have known) about the dangerous condition but did nothing to fix it.
• That negligence ultimately led to your injury.

Compensation in a Slip and Fall Case

Many people wonder how much their claim is worth. However, there is no way of estimating that without an in-depth review of the circumstances of your case and the severity of your injuries. After evaluating your case, our NYC slip-and-fall lawyer may pursue compensation for:

• Past, current and future medical expenses
• Lost income and reduced earning capacity in the future
• Physical and emotional pain and suffering
• Punitive damages, which can be awarded as punishment against a defendant that showed conscious or reckless disregard for your safety

Our personal injury law firm in NYC will work closely with a team of professionals to calculate your full medical expenses and lost wages. We will keep track of all potential expenses related to your injury (such as transportation costs, modifications to housing, and other expenses). Our team will also help you document the pain and suffering you have been put through.

All of this will help us thoroughly assess how your injuries have affected your life in order to calculate what full compensation should be in your claim.

What You Need to Know About Dealing with Insurance Companies

You will likely get a call from the property owner’s insurer soon after your fall. You should be careful what you say to the insurance adjuster and remember that:

• You do not have to talk to the insurance adjuster when they call. You can simply refer the person to your attorney.
• The insurance company representative may seem nice and compassionate, but they are looking for anything that they could use to devalue your claim. The less you say, the better.
• Never give a recorded statement or sign anything without having it reviewed by your lawyer.
• An initial settlement offer will be based on what other cases like yours have settled for in the past. This lowball offer will not take into account the specific details of your case or the financial burdens you are facing.

What You Need to Know About Falls at Work

In New York, workplace injury laws often limit employees’ options for recovering financial compensation after an on-the-job fall. However, there are several scenarios under which a person may be entitled to more than the typical workers’ compensation benefits. For example:

• In cases where a fall was due to negligence on the part of someone other than your employer, compensation may be available from the at-fault party.
• If dangerous equipment or defective tools caused your injury, you may be able to demand compensation from the manufacturer or other companies involved in the product’s distribution.
• Construction workers are protected by New York’s “Scaffold Law,” which entitles them to pursue payment beyond workers’ comp for fall-related injuries.

Please call (212) 681-1575 or contact us online now to set up a free and confidential case consultation to discuss the circumstances of your case. We will work diligently to uncover all possible sources of compensation.

Are You Being Blamed for the Accident?

In a majority of slip-and-fall cases, defendants will try to argue that the injured victim was to blame for the accident. However, with a detailed investigation, the evidence will speak for itself. You should never admit fault after an accident.

Because New York is a pure comparative fault state, the court can determine whether you were partly to blame and assign a percentage of fault to all parties involved. If you are determined to be partly at fault, your compensation would be reduced by the percentage of fault assigned to you.

So, for example, if the court determines you were 25 percent at fault for your injury, and the damages associated with your case are $10,000, your award would be reduced by $2,500.

One common example of a victim being blamed for a fall would be if the victim was talking on the phone at the time of the accident. However, even if you were talking on the phone, that does not negate the fact that the defendant was negligent in their duty to maintain a property free of dangers.

How Much Does It Cost to Hire a Lawyer in a Slip and Fall Case?

The respected NYC premises liability law firm of Belluck & Fox takes these types of cases on a contingency fee basis. This means clients do not pay us any attorney fees unless and until we win compensation in their claims.

The initial consultation is free, so there is no risk in just speaking with a knowledgeable NYC lawyer about your legal options after a fall.

Statute of Limitations on Slip and Fall Cases in NY

New York state has a strict statute of limitations on how long you have to file a personal injury claim after an accident. In general, you have three years from the date of the injury to file a lawsuit.

However, if you are filing a claim against the state, county, city or another government entity, you face a shorter time limit of 90 days. Then, you have one year and 90 days from the time of the slip-and-fall accident to file a lawsuit.

After an accident, it may seem like you have plenty of time to focus on your health and worry about a personal injury claim later. However, it is very important to consult with an experienced attorney as soon as possible to begin collecting evidence about your case and documenting your recovery.

Talk to a Knowledgeable Slip and Fall Lawyer in NYC Today for Free

In New York City, if you have been hurt in an accident on someone else’s property, you need to learn about your legal rights and what types of compensation you may be entitled to receive. Contact the trusted New York City slip-and-fall lawyers at Belluck & Fox today to talk about your case.

Our Midtown law office is located at 546 5th Ave., 5th Floor, New York, NY 10036. We welcome you to visit with our legal team at our office, or our attorneys are always available to come to you. We frequently meet with clients and their families in homes and hospitals throughout Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx, Staten Island, Queens and surrounding areas. Just let us know what is most convenient for you.