Fallen in Brooklyn Heights? You May Have a Claim
Brooklyn Heights trip and fall accidents happen all too often. Many beautiful areas are privately controlled, while the City of New York maintains others.
Whether on the Promenade overlooking the East River, walking in parks, or just strolling down Atlantic Avenue, you should have a safe place to walk. Injuries can happen if a property owner or the City fails to maintain the property safely.
You may have legal rights if you’ve tripped and fallen on someone’s property, suffering injuries. The responsible party may be held liable for your injuries.
What is a Trip and Fall Accident?
A trip and fall accident occurs when someone trips over an object or surface that has been negligently maintained or improperly constructed. These kinds of accidents can cause injuries such as fractured bones, head trauma, neck injuries, back injuries, sprains, torn ligaments, and more. When these accidents occur at public places like parks or sidewalks owned by municipalities (like the City of New York), it becomes important to understand who may be liable for your injuries.
Were You Owed a Duty?
Property owners are generally responsible for keeping their property safe for those who use the property. This obligation can include the store floors and the sidewalk in front of a building. This duty also extends to roads, parks, and other areas where people are expected to walk.
Proving the Owner / Operator Was Negligent in their Duty
The first step is proving negligence against the entity responsible for the property. Generally, you must prove that the party either created or knew of a dangerous condition that caused your injury but did not fix it in a reasonable time. Alternatively, you might show they failed to use reasonable care by failing to warn others about the risk so that the victim could have avoided it.
You must demonstrate that they were or should have been aware of the dangerous condition but failed to take necessary action to prevent your accident.
You should contact our law firm as soon as possible. We can help identify the responsible parties and potential liability and help gather the evidence needed to support your claims.
The Plaintiff’s Duty to Proving Causation and Injury
You must also demonstrate how their negligence directly caused your damage. This is known as “causation.”
Additionally, you must have an injury to bring a lawsuit. You do not have a claim if you fall and are not injured. To help establish your injury claim, you will want medical records showing what injuries you suffered because of the City’s negligence.
You may have other types of damage, including financial damage (such as lost wages and medical expenses). You can potentially claim them as well.
Again, you must contact our law firm immediately after sustaining an injury from a trip and fall accident. We need to assess your case and determine if we can help quickly.
Liability on the City Accidents on Government or Private Property
Whether privately owned or public, you must consider three separate issues regarding trip and fall accidents on property. These include a duty, proving negligence, and filing a notice of claim within specific time limits.
The Duty to File a Notice of Claim within 90 Days
Under New York State law, when someone sues a municipality such as New York City, they must first file a Notice of Claim with the municipality. Before filing a lawsuit, you must file the Notice of Claim not more than 90 days after the injury.
This Notice of Claim gives the municipality information about what happened during the incident leading up to their alleged negligent behavior. They must have notice and enough information to investigate whether they are at fault for causing your injury. You will provide related information if you are involved in a trip and fall or slip-and-fall accident.
Our firm can help guide you through this process which includes preparing all necessary documents when submitting a Notice Of Claim within specific time limits set by law.
Statute of Limitations for Personal Injury Actions
You have three years to bring a case against a defendant in an ordinary personal injury action. However, suppose a municipality is one of those defendants. In that case, you must file an action against them within one year and ninety days (measured from the date of injury). If this period passes, any potential lawsuit against the City will be barred unless exceptional circumstances apply (such as being in a coma).
Contact Our Brooklyn Personal Injury Lawyers Today
Contact our law firm immediately if you’ve been injured in a trip and fall accident in Brooklyn Heights. You have a very limited window of time to file a claim. Once you contact us, we can help assess your claim and determine if we can proceed.
If we can take your case, our legal team will gather evidence, speak with witnesses, procure medical records, and perform other related tasks.
We will negotiate on your behalf if you wish to pursue a settlement. If we cannot achieve a fair result, we are prepared to litigate your case in court.
Contact us today for a free consultation.
