Slip and Fall vs. Trip and Fall in New York, NY

A slip and fall and trip and fall are two types of accidents that can be a basis for premises liability in New York, NY. Premises liability holds property owners or those in control of a property to be responsible for injuries third parties have sustained in their premises. These injuries can arise from slip and fall and trip and fall accidents.

A slip and fall accident happens when a person loses his balance and falls due to a slippery or hazardous surface. It is usually caused by substances like water, oil, ice, or other slippery materials on the floor.

A trip and fall accident, on the other hand, occurs when a person's foot strikes an object protruding from the ground, causing him to lose his balance and fall. Some usual causes are items left in walkways, holes in the ground, uneven flooring, or other obstacles.

Premises Liability

Property owners are liable for slip and fall and trip and fall accidents that occur in their premises. Determining the liability of the property owner depends on the premises’ duty of care and the type of guest that had an accident. Two major aspects in determining the liability of the premises are whether it owed a duty of care and the scope of such duty to the injured person. The elements of a premises liability claim, such as a slip and fall and trip and fall claim, are:

Duty of Care

First, the defendant must owe a duty of care to the injured person. Property owners generally owe a duty of care to maintain their premises in a reasonably safe condition for their clients, guests, customers, employees, and other visitors. The level of care depends on the injured party’s status on the property, which is determined by the reason the injured party was on the property. For example, a trespasser, who the property owners do not know are on their property, may not be owed a duty of care. A duty of care may exist, however, to a discovered trespasser to warn them of hazardous situations on the premises.

Breach of Duty of Care

Once it has been determined that a duty of care exists in favor of the injured party, the next step is to determine whether that duty of care has been breached. This requires proof that the property owner was negligent in complying with the reasonable standards of maintenance.

Causation

Aside from showing that a duty of care exists and the breach of duty of care, the injured party must also prove a direct correlation or causation between the property owner’s negligence and the injury sustained by the injured party.

Damages

Lastly, the injured person must show that property owner’s breach of duty of care caused him damages that are addressed by law, such as medical expenses, lost earnings, and/or physical and emotional pain and suffering.

Examples of Slip and Fall Accidents

Some examples of slip and fall accidents are wet floors in a grocery store, slippery flooring in a shopping mall, or icy steps in an apartment building.

Examples of Trip and Fall Accidents

Examples of trip and fall accidents are accidents due to uneven flooring transitions, loose floorboards, broken tile, holes in the ground, or torn carpeting.

A Case Study

To understand how commercial premises may be considered liable, a case study may provide some understanding.

If you’ve slipped and fallen in a supermarket, proving the supermarket’s liability is a matter of proving a negligence claim: (a) the supermarket must have owed you a duty of care; (b) the supermarket breached that duty of care; (c) the supermarket’s breach caused you harm; and (d) because of the supermarket’s breach, you suffered physical, emotional, or financial injuries.

The first element, the existence of a duty of care, is easy to prove. For as long as the supermarket is open to the public and invites the public to its premises, it owes a duty of care to those who have entered to make sure that its premises are safe.

The second element, the breach of a duty of care, has become contentious in litigation. In New York, jurisprudence provides that there is breach when the owner or possessor of the premises had actual or constructive notice of the dangerous condition and failed to do something about it.

For example, you were in the supermarket. There were attendants giving out free food and drinks in a booth inside the supermarket. One supermarket goer was given a free drink, which she accidentally spilled on the floor. Several supermarket employees saw the spill on the floor but did nothing about it. After two hours, you were passing by an aisle, searching for groceries on the shelves when you slipped on the spilled drink. You suffered serious back injuries because of the slip. Is the supermarket liable? Yes, because several employees saw the spilled drink but failed to do something about it.

Suppose, however, that the spilled drink was on the floor for three hours, but no supermarket employee saw the spilled drink. Is the supermarket liable? The supermarket may still be held liable because you can argue that the supermarket had constructive notice of the spilled drink, having been on the floor for the past three hours.

Suppose, instead, that despite the presence of a booth giving out free food and drinks, the supermarket had an hourly inspection schedule where one of its employees would inspect the floor. None of the employees reported a spill on its hourly inspection schedule. Still, you slipped. Is the supermarket liable? In this case, the supermarket may not be held liable because its hourly floor inspection schedule shows that it was not negligent and did not breach any duty of care towards John.

The third element, causality, is also a point of contention in negligence litigation. Supermarkets will always try to deny liability when you’ve slipped and fallen in their premises. They will claim that the reason for your injuries is not the slip and fall. This is usually argued when there is a long period of time that has lapsed between the accident and the reported medical injury.

For example, you slipped in the supermarket, but did not immediately go to the doctor to get your injuries treated. Instead, you went to the doctor 4 months after the accident, and only then did you learn that your fall caused severe back injuries. The supermarket will argue that there is no relation between the slip and fall in their premises and your back injuries, given the length of time that has lapsed between the slip and fall and the complained injuries. However, if you immediately went to the doctor after the slip and fall, causation between your injuries and the slip and fall can easily be established.

The fourth element, damages, can easily be proven with documentary evidence. Your claim for damages can include medical expenses, lost wages, future lost earning capacity, property damage, physical pain, loss of enjoyment in life, emotional trauma, and pain and suffering.

Medical reports, medical bills and other expenses can show physical and financial injuries. If you are claiming for lost wages and future lost earning capacity, you need your pay stubs, bank statements, and tax returns to show how much you were earning and a medical report from your doctor stating the time you need to stay home for recovery. Medical experts can testify regarding the pain and suffering caused by the injury you sustained in the supermarket’s premises.

Slip and fall and trip and fall accidents are premises liability claims that require the expert assistance of a personal injury lawyer. Should you need assistance in this regard, we at the Law Offices of Albert Goodwin are here for you. We have offices in New York, NY, Brooklyn, NY and Queens, NY. You can call us at 212-233-1233 or send us an email at [email protected].