Articles Posted in Premises Liability

We hear about premises liability cases quite frequently, especially in New York. Most of the ones that make the news have to do with commercial properties and serious injuries resulting from slip and fall accidents or falling objects. But premises liability is a broad topic that can include a variety of injury types and can happen in a multitude of different locations.

According to the New York City Bar website, if someone is injured while lawfully on another person’s property, the owner may be liable for those injuries if negligence is involved on the part of the owner. There are several elements that need to be proven in a premises liability case. First, it needs to be shown that the victim was on the property lawfully. In some rare circumstances, a person may be on the property unlawfully and still receive compensation for injuries. We will discuss this issue more in our next post.

Secondly, there has to be proof that the property owner’s negligence led to the unsafe conditions. This may mean, for example, that the owner knew about the issue and never fixed it or fixed it but did not do so in a way that made it safe.

When you think about the diners and eateries featured on Food Network’s “Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives,” there are many quirky restaurants featured; but the common theme with all of these restaurants is that they have great food, great service and great stories about how they were founded.

One diner in the Ozark region of Missouri has a unique tradition of tossing rolls to its customers. The tradition at Lambert’s Café began when an overwhelmed owner could not reach everyone in the café with his trademark rolls. One customer said “hey, throw it to me,” and a tradition was born.

Lambert’s Café even began to be known as the “Home of the Throwed Rolls.” However, this moniker may change after a customer was injured by a thrown roll. 

It is unusual to talk about shopping center disasters outside of Black Friday sales, but invariably shoppers can be hurt in stores even without a crush of people involved. Last week, shoppers at a Walmart in Florida were exposed to carbon monoxide and were taken to the hospital. In all, 13 shoppers were treated for poisoning.

According to an ABC News.com report, carbon monoxide levels were at critical levels by 4:00 a.m. at the 24-hour Walmart in Orange County. While the cause of the incident is still under investigation, officials believe that construction workers using propane tools while inside the store may have caused fumes to collect in the store. 

Indeed, the small number of shoppers in the store at the time prevented this from being a disaster. First responders treated employees working in the store, but other shoppers reportedly refused treatment.

Imagine you are at a beach house at the Hamptons or at a lake front home in central New York enjoying a holiday barbeque. The host asks everyone to gather on the deck for a picture, and everyone obliges. While everyone poses, the deck gives way, sending everyone to the ground below. While this is a nightmare scenario, it actually happened at a home in North Carolina over the weekend.

According to an ABC News.com report, a family from Virginia was visiting the home where about 14 people were gathering for a family photo when the deck they were gathering on collapsed. A 12 by 12 section of the deck gave way, sending the people nearly a 12 feet to the surface below. Family members suffered a variety of injuries, from cuts and scratches to broken bones. 

Due to the number of injuries, several emergency response agencies were called in to treat all the people injured. It remains to be seen how some of the injured parties will recover, but the more immediate questions surround who may have been at fault for the accident.

The Fourth of July weekend was an epic celebration of civic pride and patriotism where scores of people enjoyed fireworks displays and individual shows at residential homes. While most went off without a hitch, some people were injured. They ranged from minor injuries to severe ones. Also, there were also reports of homes being damaged because of fireworks being set off. 

When these things happen, it is important for accident victims to understand that they have rights. If a homeowner failed to use reasonable care while setting off fireworks and a guest was injured because of such a failure, the homeowner could be held liable for the guest’s injuries. This means that the guest could seek compensation for their injuries.

While this is the basic concept behind negligence cases, proving negligence is not always simple. The following information could be helpful in proving your case should a lawsuit be needed to assert your rights. 

In our last post, we highlighted the dangers that young children, and some adults alike, face when at the water park or at someone’s backyard pool. Essentially, people who are not strong swimmers could be in distress and supervisory people may not even know it. And to avoid a tragedy, homeowners and park personnel both have a duty to use reasonable care in making sure a person does not drown.

However, drownings are not the only concerns facing water parks, public pools are even some homeowners. The chemical balance in the water must strong enough to ward off algae and other germs, but the chlorine must not be harmful to patrons. According to an ABC News.com report, more than 40 people were sickened at a northern California public pool. 

The victims, mostly children were likely exposed to high levels of sodium hypochlorite, a form of chlorine that is used to treat swimming pools. Officials investigating the incident reported that 17 people were taken to the hospital and were later released. 23 other people were treated onsite.

As we have noted in a number of our posts, summer is the time for road trips. But for those who like enjoying the outdoors without driving hundreds of miles to a destination, a pool party would likely do the trick. But for people who open their homes for these parties, it is important to know and understand the safety responsibilities homeowners have.

Essentially, homeowners have a duty to use reasonable care in making sure that the property is safe for guests when they come over. Also, the must act as a reasonable person would in supervising people, especially children, when they are swimming. Indeed, the supervisory people may not need to have life-saving skills certificates as common lifeguards would have at a public swimming pool, but they should have a basic understanding of how to spot a person who is in distress.

This post will identify a few telltale signs of someone in danger.

When you go to the mall or a supermarket, you don’t expect to have to avoid hazards such as spilled milk or falling objects. Unfortunately, things like this happen to consumers every day. When a person is injured while shopping, what are their rights and options? Moreover, who can be held accountable when this occurs?

These are very common questions that injured patrons have. This post will briefly explain why they can be compensated depending on the situation. As always, the following is not legal advice. 

Generally, a consumer is considered an invitee; someone who is invited onto the property for a specific purpose. In most cases, invitees are welcomed into a store for the purpose of purchasing a product or service from the owner. When invitees come to a store, there is an expectation that the store owner has taken reasonable steps to make sure the property is free of hazards. If there are hazards (like the spill we mentioned earlier), the store owner is tasked with removing it before a consumer is injured.

When you go on vacation, you expect the best with your room. It should be immaculate, have a great view and be free of any harmful or threatening elements. For a family of four from the greater Philadelphia area, this should have been the case as they traveled to a resort in the U.S. Virgin Islands. 

Unfortunately, after spending one night in the condo that they had rented, each member in the family had been seriously sickened. In fact, both boys experienced seizures. According to an ABC News.com report, the condo below them had been sprayed with a toxic pesticide(methyl bromide) the day they arrived. Apparently the residue emanating from the pesticide seeped into the second-floor condo and poisoned them.

Paramedics responded and airlifted the boys to a hospital in Philadelphia, while the parents were taken to a Delaware hospital. Pest abatement company Termanix was responsible for spraying the condo below the family. 

If you have slipped and fallen in a grocery store, or were injured by loose floor tiles in a mall or were assaulted while on hotel property, it is okay to feel as if you want your rights respected and to be compensated for your injuries. After all, owners of retail outlets and other commercial property have a duty to use reasonable care in keeping patrons safe. When they fail to do so, they should be held accountable.

Pursuing a successful negligence case requires proof of several additional elements beside a legal duty to licensees or invitees (i.e. customers). There must be proof that the premises owner failed to use reasonable care in keeping patrons safe. 

This can be proven by showing that the owner did not clear the hazard that led to the accident after it was given reasonable notice of it. An example could be found through security footage showing how the hazard was created and testimony from people showing that they complained to the proper people in charge, which shows that notice was given.