Long Island Premises Liability

Imagine shopping at your favorite grocery store when you slip in an unmopped liquid spill and suffer a fractured ankle. Or visiting a friend at their condo in Great Neck and shattering your kneecap after you trip and fall on a poorly maintained walkway. When you’ve been hurt on someone else’s property in this manner, you may be entitled to compensation for:

• Current and future medical bills
• Lost income from time away from work
• Pain and suffering that has affected your daily life

At TonaLaw, our Long Island premises liability lawyers know how a serious injury can upend everything: your health, your finances, and your sense of security. We also know that property owners and managers are quick to deny liability, and insurance companies routinely dispute valid claims. That’s why we pledge to help you turn this setback into a comeback.

TonaLaw’s Pledge to You

• Financial Comeback: We pledge to pursue every dollar you’re owed, from immediate medical costs to long-term care expenses, lost wages, and other losses tied to your injury. We respond to lowball offers with an aggressive demand for fair compensation.
• Physical Comeback: Healing from catastrophic injuries is hard enough. Let us deal with insurance providers and assemble the evidence needed for your personal injury claim so you can gradually recover.

Emotional Comeback: Suffering a premises liability injury is emotionally as well as physically devastating. Even when you sleep, you may have nightmares. We pledge to tell your full story and fight for compensation that reflects everything this has cost you.

The legal doctrine of premises liability deals with injuries caused by dangerous defects in property. This type of civil action expands upon the common-law theory of negligence. Note that for a property owner to be liable for an injury under the doctrine of premises liability, the injured party must have been on the property legally.

To recover damages after being injured by a dangerous property condition, the injured party must establish the following:

• You were legally authorized to be on the property in question, whether you were invited on the property to perform work, to shop at a store or restaurant, or any other form of invitation. Alternatively, it may also be possible to recover for unlawful presence on the property if the property owner was aware that you were on the property.
• The property owner knew or should have known about the dangerous condition and failed to take action to either fix, warn, or otherwise prevent the property condition from harming other people.

The dangerous condition on the property caused your injury, leading to medical expenses and other damages.

There are a wide variety of ways that individuals can be injured due to an unsafe property condition, but the most common ways this occurs are through the following:

• Slip and Fall Accidents: Often caused by “transitory substances” like spilled liquids, ice and snow, leaked oils, or freshly mopped floors without proper signage.
• Trip and Fall Hazards: Resulting from structural defects such as uneven sidewalks, loose carpeting, poorly lit stairwells, or damaged stairs.
• Commercial and Retail Negligence: Specific to businesses where high foot traffic requires constant monitoring of aisle obstructions, falling objects and merchandise, or malfunctioning furniture (e.g., broken chairs).
• General Property Defects: Hazardous conditions found in residential or public spaces, including broken or defective handrails, rotted porch decking, or unsecured construction debris.
• Negligent Supervision: Accidents involving minors where a property owner or organization (like summer camp accidents) fails to provide the oversight necessary to prevent foreseeable harm.
• Animal Attacks: Dog bites and other domestic animal injuries that occur due to a failure to properly restrain or fence a pet on the premises.

These are extremely broad categories that could occur under numerous circumstances. For example, a slip and fall could take place from a wet floor in a store, or it could be from an icy surface on a sidewalk. A person can trip on numerous types of surfaces, such as an uneven sidewalk or a hidden step.

There are a wide variety of ways that individuals can be injured due to an unsafe property condition, but the most common ways this occurs are through the following:

• Slip and Fall Accidents: Often caused by “transitory substances” like spilled liquids, ice and snow, leaked oils, or freshly mopped floors without proper signage.
• Trip and Fall Hazards: Resulting from structural defects such as uneven sidewalks, loose carpeting, poorly lit stairwells, or damaged stairs.
• Commercial and Retail Negligence: Specific to businesses where high foot traffic requires constant monitoring of aisle obstructions, falling objects and merchandise, or malfunctioning furniture (e.g., broken chairs).
• General Property Defects: Hazardous conditions found in residential or public spaces, including broken or defective handrails, rotted porch decking, or unsecured construction debris.
• Negligent Supervision: Accidents involving minors where a property owner or organization (like summer camp accidents) fails to provide the oversight necessary to prevent foreseeable harm.
• Animal Attacks: Dog bites and other domestic animal injuries that occur due to a failure to properly restrain or fence a pet on the premises.

These are extremely broad categories that could occur under numerous circumstances. For example, a slip and fall could take place from a wet floor in a store, or it could be from an icy surface on a sidewalk. A person can trip on numerous types of surfaces, such as an uneven sidewalk or a hidden step.

Moreover, under the legal doctrine of attractive nuisance, a property owner could be found liable for other things on their property that attract children to them. The most common of these incidents involves swimming pool accidents. If the landowner does not have proper safety precautions in place, such as a fence around the pool, then they could be liable in the event that a child wanders into the pool and becomes injured. 

Another common condition on a property that has the potential to harm children is a trampoline. If necessary and appropriate safety precautions are not taken, children can be seriously injured, and the property owner could be liable for damages.

While a case for premises liability is more straightforward if the property owner is actually aware of the dangerous defect on their property, it is still possible for them to be found liable for an accident if they should have known that the dangerous condition existed. This legal concept is known as constructive notice.

A common example of constructive notice would be if the floor in a refrigerated aisle of a supermarket is wet due to the refrigerators’ tendency to cause condensation to leak onto the floor. The management of the store might not know that there was water on the floor at a particular time, but the store could be found liable if that causes an accident if the floor was wet for a sufficiently long amount of time.

Although the store may not have had actual knowledge of the wet floor in the above scenario, the law imposes liability because the condition would have come to the store’s attention if they were doing their due diligence to maintain a safe environment. However, the application of this concept is very fact-specific, so be sure to contact an experienced attorney to discuss the details of your case.

To succeed in a lawsuit based on premises liability, you need to establish that your injuries were a direct result of the accident.

If you become aware of an injury immediately after an accident, don’t hesitate to go directly to an urgent care facility or emergency room, depending on the severity of the accident. It is fairly common for injuries to become apparent in the days following an accident. If this occurs, visit a doctor as soon as possible.

Receiving medical help as needed after an accident is extremely important. It allows you to receive treatment for your injury and to prevent any further injuries. Additionally, the medical reports created during the visit are vital for proving that your injuries were caused by the accident itself, as opposed to a preexisting condition or an incident unrelated to the dangerous condition on the property in question.

One thing to be mindful of when injured somewhere is waivers of liability and release from liability forms. These are most often present during sports events or at facilities where activities may involve some sort of risk, such as trampoline parks or other amusement facilities. If you sign one of these before or after participating and sustain an injury, you may or may not be able to go after compensation for your damages.Even though you can never predict how the court will rule, you should contact an attorney immediately and take every precaution to avoid being barred from bringing an insurance claim.

To receive compensation for your injuries arising under premises liability in New York, the lawsuit must be filed within three years of the date of the accident. Some cases allow for an extension of this deadline based on when the injury victim first discovered their condition, but this is an extremely case-specific occurrence.

In any case, don’t wait until the last minute to file an insurance claim. After the accident occurs, reach out to the experienced and trusted attorneys at TonaLaw. We can assist you with going over the details of your case and determining the most appropriate legal strategy for pursuing all available forms of compensation.

If you or someone close to you has been hurt, it is vital to begin investigating your case as soon as possible. Call a premises liability attorney on Long Island to discuss your case and start working on your potential claim.

TonaLaw offers free, confidential case evaluations with no obligation to continue working together afterward. Furthermore, we never charge upfront when clients arrange a contingency agreement, so there’s no risk to you when you get a lawyer to fight alongside you on your case.

Schedule your 100% free, no-risk case review today when you call 833-988-3321 (833-866-2529) or contact us online.

How Is Fault Determined in a Long Island Premises Liability Case?

Fault in a premises liability case is based on whether the property owner acted reasonably under the circumstances. Courts look at factors like how long the hazard existed, whether inspections were regularly performed, and if prior complaints were made. Evidence such as surveillance footage, maintenance logs, and witness statements can play a major role. Even if you were partially at fault, New York follows a comparative negligence rule, meaning you can still recover damages, but your compensation may be reduced based on your percentage of responsibility.

Can I Still Recover Compensation if There Were Warning Signs Posted?

Yes, but it depends on the situation. Warning signs don’t automatically protect a property owner from liability. If the hazard was still unreasonably dangerous despite the warning, or if the sign was unclear, poorly placed, or easy to miss, you may still have a valid claim. Courts will evaluate whether the warning was sufficient and whether a reasonable person would have been able to avoid the danger. Each case is highly fact-specific, and the presence of a warning sign is just one factor among many considered.

What Types of Evidence Are Most Important in a Premises Liability Claim?

Strong evidence is critical to proving negligence. The most valuable types include photographs of the hazard, incident reports, medical records, and security camera footage showing how the accident occurred. Witness statements can also help confirm the condition and timeline. In many cases, attorneys will obtain maintenance logs or inspection records to show the property owner failed to address a known issue.

A preventable injury on someone else’s property can leave you dealing with medical bills, missed time from work, and uncertainty about your future. Fortunately, New York law allows you to hold negligent property owners accountable, but timing and evidence play a major role in what you’re able to recover. Taking action sooner helps protect your claim and gives you a stronger position when dealing with insurance companies.

If you’ve been hurt on a property on Long Island, TonaLaw is ready to help you take the next step. Reach out today for a free initial consultation and get answers about your legal options. Call 1-833-866-2529 or contact us online to get started now.