With so many people going in and out of buildings every day, it’s expected that some will injure themselves on occasion. When injuries arise from the owner’s negligence, they are called unsafe building injuries and can lead to a premises liability claim. Residents of New York will want to know more about unsafe building injuries and what factors are involved in filing a claim.
The most common causes of unsafe building injuries are slippery floors, broken stairs, potholes and cracks in the pavement, and falling objects. They can also be aggravated by factors like poor lighting and inadequate security. Injuries can occur on commercial property or in other people’s homes.
When filing a premises liability claim, two things must be established: what the owner’s and the victim’s duty of care was, and what the victim can be classified as. Owners have a duty to keep their property free from any unreasonable safety risks, while entrants have a duty to use the property in a reasonable way.
Entrants are classified as either invitees, licensees, or trespassers. Owners have a duty of care to all three, though naturally there is less of a duty to the third group. Invitees enter a property for mutual benefit, such as to purchase goods, while licensees enter for their own benefit, such as to use the restroom.
This is just the beginning, though. One may have to negotiate a settlement with the other side and perhaps go so far as to litigate. A property owner or injury victim may benefit from hiring a lawyer who specializes in personal injury cases. Such lawyers may have an in-house team of investigators who can make a coherent case out of incident reports, security footage, and other data. Lawyers may also handle negotiations, sidestepping any aggressive tactics, and speak on clients’ behalf in court.
