Slip & Fall Accidents in New York State

Slip & Fall Accidents: As attorneys practicing in the field of personal injury in New York City and Long Island, we have many clients who have been injured in slip, trip and fall accidents. The first thing that we advise our clients at their initial interview, is the current applicable law in New York State. In order for a victim of a slip, trip and fall accident to be successful, she must submit to the Court that is hearing her case, sufficient evidence to create "a triable issue of fact" of whether or not the defendants either created the defective condition that caused her to fall or had actual or constructive notice of the defective condition. This can be proven by evidence that the defendants actually created the condition, or that they actually knew about the exact condition that made the victim fall. The victim may also prove this "notice" requirement by submitting evidence that an ongoing and recurring dangerous condition existed in the area of the incident, which was routinely left unaddressed by the defendants. This does not have to be the exact condition that the victim fell upon. If the victim does establish a condition was continuously present, the defendants may then be charged with notice of each specific re-occurrence of the hazardous condition. These rules are applied once the victim has successfully identified the proper defendants and followed all the legal requirements to effectively prosecute a civil case against them. As in most areas of the law, there are exceptions to these rules. It takes a cautious practitioner to identify and pursue all the proper parties and arguments in a slip, trip and fall case. www.foleygriffin.com