Signs I Could Win a Slip and Fall Injury Claim

When you slip or trip and fall because of a property owner’s or manager’s negligence, you have a right to recover compensation for your losses and injuries. The New York and New Jersey slip and fall lawyers at Kantrowitz, Goldhamer & Graifman can help you to understand if you have a strong case to recover damages and to recognize the signs that you could win a slip and fall injury case.

You can recover damages for slip and fall injuries when you can prove that someone else was negligent.

Under both New York and New Jersey laws, in order to prove that another party was negligent, you will need to show that the party owed you some duty of care, that the party breached that duty, that the breach was the proximate cause of your losses and injuries, and that those losses and injuries imposed costs and expenses upon you.

The property owner’s duty of care depends on why you were on the property.

Property owners have a higher standard of care regarding guests and people who were invited onto their property than they do to trespassers. Where commercial property is concerned, including shopping centers, office buildings, and parking lots, the property owner or manager is obligated to remove or to warn guests and invitees about slip and fall hazards, to provide adequate lighting and clear and level walkways, and to clear spilled liquids and accumulated ice and snow. The first sign that you could win your slip and fall injury case is if any of these conditions led to your fall.   

Your slip and fall accident must be a direct and proximate cause of your injuries.

If the fall did not cause injuries or your injuries are relatively minor, your slip and fall case might be subject to dismissal. If on the other hand, the fall caused broken bones, head, neck or spinal trauma, open wounds that require stitches, or internal organ injury, you will be able to show losses and injuries that entitle you to compensation. You may also be able to prove damages if the slip and fall exacerbated an existing injury. The seriousness of your injuries is the next sign of your chances to win your slip and fall case.

The property owner or manager will likely challenge your slip and fall claims.

Consider whether the property owner or manager can argue, for example, that:

• Even if you were invited or expected to be on the property, you went to a part of the property that was closed off or had restricted access;
• You were using your phone or were otherwise distracted, and you ignored obvious hazards that caused you to fall;
• You were wearing shoes that did not match the conditions on the property;
• Other visitors to the property saw the hazard and avoided it, and you should also have noticed the slip and fall hazard.

The third sign that you could win your slip and fall case is that none of these or any other defenses apply to your case.

You have detailed information and records about your slip and fall accident.

You have two years in New Jersey and three years from the date of your slip and fall accident in New York. If you retain the slip and fall lawyers at KGG Law immediately after the accident, we will be able to collect the facts and information needed to support a lawsuit. If you wait to file your case, that information will be more difficult to recover, particularly if conditions on the property have changed and witness memories have faded. The fourth sign that you could win your slip and fall accident lawsuit is that if you have started your claim soon after the accident and you have detailed information about the accident scene, your injuries, and the medical bills and other expenses you incurred to recover from those injuries. 

Contact the KGG Personal Injury Attorneys to Start Your Slip and Fall Case

Call the slip and fall lawyers at Kantrowitz, Goldhamer & Graifman in New York or New Jersey for a complimentary consultation about your opportunity to recover damages from a negligent property owner or manager. We will review the evidence in your case and provide fair and objective responses to your questions and concerns about recovering your damages.

The signs that you could win your slip and fall case are not always obvious. Contact us to discuss the facts about your case. You will have no obligation to retain our firm, but if you do ask us to represent you and we agree to take your case, we will fight tirelessly to recover the compensation you deserve for your slip and fall losses and injuries.