A slip and fall refers to an incident in which a person slips, trips, or falls on another person's or a business's property due to a hazardous condition, resulting in injury. This type of accident falls under premises liability law, which holds property owners responsible for maintaining reasonably safe conditions for lawful visitors.
To establish liability in a slip and fall case, the injured person (the plaintiff) typically must prove that the property owner knew or should have known about the dangerous condition and failed to remedy or warn about it. These concepts are often described as actual notice (the owner knew about the hazard) or constructive notice (the owner should have known about the hazard through reasonable inspection and maintenance).
The plaintiff must also show that the owner's negligence directly caused the fall and the resulting injuries.
New York premises liability follows common law principles requiring property owners to exercise reasonable care in maintaining their premises. Victims ordinarily must demonstrate the following four elements:
The owner owed a duty of care to the injured visitor.
The owner breached that duty by failing to maintain safe conditions or provide adequate warnings.
The breach was the direct cause of the accident.
The accident caused damages (physical injury, medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, etc.).
