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New York Premises Liability Attorney

Bailey, Johnson & Peck, P.C. represents private property owners, commercial property owners, business owners, and their insurers against premises liability claims. We help our clients assert that they upheld the proper standard of care for the maintenance of their property. If you need effective representation in these matters, let a New York premises liability attorney work to protect your interests. Our attorneys have offices in Albany and serve clients throughout the Capital District of New York State. Schedule a free consultation today by calling 518-456-0082.

new york premises liability attorney

What is Premises Liability?

Premises liability cases often fall under the umbrella of personal injury law. Basically, if a person suffers a serious injury on someone else’s property, they have grounds to sue the property owner for negligence. Property owners owe each visitor a specific duty of care to keep their premises safe. If the property owner knew about dangerous conditions and failed to do anything about it which resulted in a serious injury, they could face the legal consequences in a premises liability claim.

Types of Premises Liability Claims

The most common type of personal injury case related to premises liability is a slip and fall accident. However, there are many other types of premises liability cases, including:

  • Swimming pool accidents at apartment buildings or public parks
  • Amusement park accidents
  • Dog attacks on public or private property
  • Lack of building security which leads to a violent crime
  • Accidents on elevators or escalators
  • Snow and ice accidents
  • Flooding and water leaks on public or private property
  • Toxic fumes in a public or private building
  • Negligent maintenance of a building or piece of property
  • Fires on public or private property
  • Any kind of dangerous condition on public or private property

Classifications for Types of Visitors

Whether you’re suing or you’re the one being sued for premises liability, it’s important to read up on the specifics of how these cases work. In many states, determining negligence boils down to the type of visitor who suffered an injury on the property. There are three types of visitors:

  • An Invitee is basically someone who has direct or implied permission from the property owner to access the property in question. Invitees could be friends, family, neighbors, etc. Property owners are expected to keep their premises safe for invitees.
  • A Licensee is someone who also has direct or implied permission from the property owner to access the property in question. The difference is that the licensee is accessing the property for their own purposes. For example, lawyers consider salesmen to be licensees in a premises liability case. Property owners generally owe licensees a lesser duty of care. So if they know that there is a dangerous condition on their property that could cause a major injury, they must provide a warning. Many property owners warn of dangerous conditions through signs.
  • A Trespasser is someone who doesn’t have permission to access someone else’s property. Most of the time, property owners don’t owe a legal duty to trespassers to keep their property safe or to provide a warning of potential danger. The only exception to this rule is if the trespasser in question is a child. So if an adult trespasser suffers a personal injury on your property and they try to sue you, they will likely not win their case because they didn’t have permission to access your property in the first place.
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Who is Liable in a Premises Liability Claim?

In complex premises liability cases, sometimes more than one person or entity is at fault. And sometimes, premises liability cases are complex because it’s difficult to determine who exactly is at fault. Listed below are just a few of the parties who could be liable for a premises liability claim.

  • Private property owners
  • Commercial property owners
  • A business owner
  • The property’s management company
  • The property’s maintenance crew
  • A city or municipality
  • The property’s cleaning crew
  • The property’s security team

How to Prove Negligence in a Premises Liability Accident

Just because a person suffered serious injuries on someone’s property, that doesn’t automatically mean that the property owner’s negligence caused the injury. Sometimes, visitors become injured in slip and fall accidents, for example, due to their own clumsiness or negligence. Still, these injured clients may try to file a premises liability claim in order to recover compensation anyway. These illegitimate claims happen far too often. That’s why you need New York premises liability attorneys to defend you and your property.

Proving negligence is an integral part of a legitimate claim though. Whether you’re the one suing or you’re the one being sued, our law firm will help you determine who’s to blame through the four elements of negligence listed below.

  • Duty of Care: Each property owner has the legal duty to keep their property safe for all visitors. 
  • Breached Duty of Care: If property owners fail to keep their premises safe and someone becomes injured as a result, they have basically breached their legal duty. 
  • Causation: The person’s injuries were a direct result of the dangerous condition on the property.
  • Damages: The injured person suffered many types of damages due to negligent maintenance of the property in question. Therefore, the injured person deserves to claim compensation for their damages.

What if Multiple Parties Are At Fault in a Premises Liability Case?

Let’s say that both the property owner and the injured person share a degree of fault in the premises liability accident. Invitees and licensees are supposed to exercise a reasonable standard of care for their own safety. If a legal investigation finds that the licensee or invitee failed to act reasonably, they could recover a smaller amount of compensation under New York law.

New York follows a pure comparative fault rule which comes into play when both a negligent property owner and a negligent visitor share a degree of responsibility in an accident. For example, let’s say that an investigation reveals that a visitor shares 10% of the blame in a premises liability case while a property owner shares 90% of the blame. Let’s also say that based on the damages that the injured visitor suffered, they deserve $100,000 in compensation. Under New York’s comparative fault rule, the injured visitor would only receive $90,000 due to their share of the blame.

Damages for a Premises Liability Case

Injured parties can seek compensation for a variety of damages in premises liability lawsuits, including:

  • Medical expenses including hospital bills, surgery bills, medication bills, etc.
  • Rehabilitative bills
  • Lost wages
  • Loss of earning capacity
  • Physical pain and suffering
  • Emotional distress
  • Loss of consortium
  • Loss of enjoyment of day-to-day life

Albany premises liability lawyers at Bailey, Johnson & Peck have helped hundreds of premises liability clients recover maximum compensation for their suffering. We can do the same for you too.

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Call a New York Premises Liability Attorney at Bailey, Johnson & Peck Today

At Bailey, Johnson & Peck, P.C., our experienced New York premises liability lawyers work with clients to investigate allegations and develop an appropriate defense for each and every premises liability lawsuit. In all matters of insurance and potential liability, we strive to effectively and efficiently defend our clients’ interests and obtain a speedy and equitable resolution to each case. Our law firm is ready to establish an attorney-client relationship with you. Set up a free consultation today by calling a New York premises liability attorney at 518-456-0082 or by completing our contact form. We serve clients with property interests in Albany, Schenectady, Troy, and the surrounding areas.

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Our attorneys have extensive experience in personal injury law, including car accidents, slip-and-fall accidents, catastrophic injuries and wrongful death. If you have questions about insurance coverage and how to get the financial compensation you need, contact us today to see how we can help.

We have represented many clients on both sides of personal injury and insurance disputes. Let us use our depth of knowledge and experience to help you and your family get the medical care and financial compensation you need and deserve.