New Jersey Premises Liability Attorneys

Proudly serving all of New Jersey

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NJ Premises Liability Verdicts and Settlements

• $2.3 Million Settlement – Apartment Complex Fall Injury
• $625,000 Settlement – Trip and Fall Injuries
• $525,000 Settlement – Slip and Fall at Condominium Complex
• $375,000 Settlement – Injuries in Slip and Fall Accident
• $300,000 Settlement – Fall from Window

Click here for more verdicts and settlements.

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Who is Responsible for Your Slip & Fall Injuries in New Jersey?

A premises liability injury could take place in a store or restaurant; a public street or other government property; or even a private home. The law generally gives property owners the responsibility for maintaining the public sidewalk right outside their doors, as well as their own property. However, property owners are not legally liable for an accident that the victim was entirely or mostly responsible for; the law gives everyone a duty to avoid obvious dangers. Owners are also not legally responsible for injuries that they couldn’t have reasonably prevented, such as an oil spill that happened moments before it caused an accident.

According to the law, home and business owners must exercise a reasonable duty of care that keeps their property safe for anyone who may visit. However, a landowner’s level of liability will depend on which category a visitor falls into – invitee, licensee, or trespasser. Invitees have been authorized to access the property. They are owed the most duty of care, and any harmful conditions must be fixed or caution given to prevent injuries. Licensees may have expressed or implied consent to enter onto the premises but do so for their own specific purposes. Property owners generally have to warn licensees of any dangerous conditions that have the potential to cause harm. Trespassers have not been given permission to be on the property, and therefore, aren’t owed duty of care unless the trespasser is a child.

Property owners are responsible for the proper maintenance, security, and construction of a piece of land, building, and/or residence or place of business. If lighting is poor, stairs are broken, floors are left wet, or snow or ice isn’t cleared from a sidewalk, an unsuspecting passerby’s life can be put on hold for months, if not years, as he or she recuperates. Slip-and fall-injuries range from spinal cord injury to brain damage or broken bones. These injuries and many others can require lengthy hospital stays, multiple surgeries, long-term physical therapy, and even limit a person’s ability to work or carry out day-to-day tasks like he used to.

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How to File a Premises Liability Claim in NJ

Law-abiding people should be able to go out in public, or to a friend’s house, without fear of serious injury. If you or someone you care about was hurt in a premises injury accident, you have the right to hold the negligent property owner legally liable for your injuries.

In order to win a premises liability lawsuit, you should be able to prove that you took reasonable care to avoid being injured but were injured anyway; that the injury took place on the defendant’s property; that the defendant knew or should have known about the hazard; and that the defendant did not fix the hazard within a reasonable amount of time. You should also be able to show a jury the extent of your injuries, which include your physical injuries as well as medical bills and other costs associated with the accident; the costs of time off work; any permanent impairment or reduction in quality of life the accident caused; emotional trauma; and pain and suffering.

It’s important to keep in mind that there is a statute of limitations on how long you have to file a claim after you’ve been injured. In New Jersey, you have two years from the date of the incident to bring a claim against a private property owner. Failure to file within the allotted timeframe will forfeit your right recover damages unless your circumstance falls into a specific exception.

If an injury occurs on a public property, which refers to any property that is owned by a local, county, state, or federal government entity and is specifically intended for public use, the process for filing a claim will be different. Some government agencies are immune from liability in certain situations. It will take an experienced premises liability attorney to establish whether or not you can seek compensation. If so, he or she will submit a Notice of Claim to the public entity stating your intent to file a claim, which typically must be done within 90 days of when the injury occurred.

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Common Premises Liability Claims

There are a number of things that can make a property unsafe and lead to injuries. Some of the most common types of premises liability claims include:

• Negligent security
• Slip-and-falls
• Poor maintenance
• Dog bites
• Obstructions and overhangs
• Escalator and elevator defects

Many premises liability claims arise due to weather-related conditions. Icy and snowy sidewalks and rain-covered floors create slippery surfaces that frequently result in falls. Despite the weather being outside of a property owner’s control, he still has a responsibility to take the proper precautions to keep his property as safe as possible. This may include things like using salt or sand on sidewalks, providing mats in stores, and placing cones on wet spots.

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Getting the Compensation You Deserve

Proving fault in a premises liability case may seem like an easy task, but the process is time-consuming and demands meticulous investigation. An experienced lawyer, like the ones at Lependorf & Silverstein, P.C., may be able to help you document and prove the extent of your injuries. Contact our NJ premises liability lawyers for more information about your legal rights and options.

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