Premises Liability

Anapol Schwartz has successfully handled many slip and fall cases, some involving catastrophic injuries and death.

Anapol Schwartz has experience in cases that involve steps, tile floors, wood floors, sidewalks and other surfaces. When needed, our slip and fall attorneys employ forensic experts, such as engineers, who can establish coefficients of friction for various surfaces, as well as an analysis of conditions arising from design inadequacies or the failure to adhere to applicable building codes.

A slip and fall is a generic term for an injury that occurs when someone slips, trips or falls as a result of a dangerous or hazardous condition on someone else's property. It includes falls as a result of water, ice or snow, as well as abrupt changes in flooring, poor lighting or even a hidden hazard such as a gap or hard to see hole in the ground.

Property owners are responsible for injuries that occur as a result of a dangerous or hazardous condition on their property, which the owner knew about, or should have known about. These conditions may be obvious, such as ice or snow on a sidewalk, or hidden, such as a hole in a lawn that may be obscured by grass. In general, an owner will be considered to have knowledge of a dangerous or hazardous condition if it is permanent in nature, since the owner knew, or should have known, about the condition before the incident occurs. In cases of temporary conditions, such as a liquid spill, the extent of time that the condition existed before the incident actually occurred has legal significance. If the spill occurred just before the incident, a property owner may not be liable, since the owner could not have known about the spill before the slip and fall occurred. However, if the spill was present for some period of time before the incident, or occurs in an area subject to frequent spills, then the owner may be liable, even if they were unaware the spill had occurred.

Recoverable Damages

Depending upon the jurisdiction and facts of your slip and fall case, the following damages MAY BE recoverable:

• Medical bills and expenses incurred as a result of the incident;
• Lost income for time from work to recovery;
• Compensation for pain and suffering as a result of the incident; and
• General damages.

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