Just as property owners have a legal duty to ensure the safety of visitors in their stores, restaurants, offices and other businesses, they must ensure adjacent sidewalks and parking lots are reasonably free of slip-and-fall hazards. This includes removing ice and snow and repairing potholes, loose paving stones and other damage, or adequately warning visitors of an existing danger.
A fall on a sidewalk or parking lot that results in an injury or death may be the basis of a legal claim against the property owner or other responsible party. Injury victims who can demonstrate that someone else’s negligence led to their injuries may recover compensation for medical bills, lost wages, pain, suffering and more.
Contact the Ginarte law firm today to set up a free initial consultation about a parking lot or sidewalk fall in the New York and New Jersey metro area.
Legal Recourse for Injuries on Dangerous Parking Lots & Sidewalks
Premises liability, the legal theory that property owners are responsible for the safety of visitors, extends to sidewalks and parking lots. Owners and other responsible parties (business operators, for example) have a duty to keep sidewalks and parking lots reasonably free of hazards. If a hazard cannot be promptly eliminated, they have a duty to post adequate warnings or barriers.
Premises liability applies to private businesses and homeowners, as well as to public entities, such as local governments, schools and parks.
Examples of parking lot or sidewalk hazards that could give rise to a claim include:
- A pothole or other open hole, ditch or trench.
- Loose or broken paving stones.
- Paving stones of irregular height.
- Ice, snow, sleet, mud, puddled rain or runoff.
- Spilled oil, food, drink or other liquids or semi-liquids.
- Discarded trash, refuse, tools, equipment or other objects.
- Shifting or irregular surfaces, such as gravel, mulch or sand.
- Overgrown grass, shrubbery or other plants that obscure a curb, step or other irregularity.
- Poor lighting during nighttime hours or in dark areas, such as in a pedestrian tunnel.
If the facts of your fall accident and injury show that the owner of the parking lot or sidewalk was liable for the harm you suffered, you could recover compensation for your medical bills, income lost during your recovery, pain, suffering and other losses.
Contact Our NY / NJ Slip-and-Fall Accident Attorneys
The slip-and-fall accident lawyers of the Ginarte law firm can help you obtain justice if you or a loved one has been seriously injured in a fall on a sidewalk or parking lot in the New York and New Jersey metro area. Individuals who have been injured because of someone else’s negligence may be entitled to compensation.