Premises Liability Expertise: Hinshaw Adds Litigator to NY/NJ Defense Team

The law firm Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP has recently expanded its defense team in New York and New Jersey, adding a seasoned litigator specializing in premises liability cases. This move highlights the firm’s commitment to providing comprehensive legal services in these key jurisdictions, where premises liability claims are a significant concern for property owners and businesses alike. Understanding premises liability is crucial for anyone who owns, manages, or visits a property, as it dictates the legal responsibilities and potential liabilities associated with maintaining a safe environment.

What is Premises Liability?

Premises liability refers to the legal responsibility of property owners (and sometimes tenants or managers) to maintain a safe environment on their premises and prevent injuries to visitors. This responsibility extends to a wide range of locations, including private homes, apartment complexes, retail stores, sidewalks, parking lots, schools, public parks, and recreational spaces. When property owners fail to uphold this duty of care, they can be held liable for injuries that occur as a result of unsafe conditions on their property.

In both New York and New Jersey, premises liability law is well-established, with numerous cases shaping the legal landscape. These laws are designed to protect individuals from harm while on someone else’s property and to assign responsibility when injuries occur due to negligence.

Common Types of Premises Liability Cases

Premises liability claims can arise from a variety of incidents, some of the most common include:

Slip and Fall Accidents: These are the most frequently reported type of premises liability case, often resulting from wet floors, icy sidewalks, uneven surfaces, loose carpeting, or poor lighting.
Trip and Fall Accidents: These accidents occur when hazardous conditions on a property cause someone to lose their balance and fall, such as potholes, broken sidewalks, or misplaced objects.
Inadequate Maintenance: Broken handrails, loose flooring, faulty lighting, and other forms of neglected maintenance can lead to serious injuries.
Negligent Security: Lack of security guards, cameras, or adequate lighting can create an environment where injuries or assaults are more likely to occur.
Swimming Pool Accidents: Drowning or injury due to lack of supervision, inadequate fencing, or poorly maintained pool areas can result in premises liability claims.
Dog Bites: In many states, including New Jersey, dog owners are held strictly liable for injuries caused by their pets, even if the dog has never shown aggression before.
Elevator and Escalator Accidents: Malfunctioning elevators and escalators can cause severe injuries, leading to premises liability claims against the property owner or manager.
Falling Objects: Injuries caused by falling merchandise or improperly secured objects in commercial spaces can also give rise to premises liability claims.

Establishing a Premises Liability Claim

To successfully pursue a premises liability claim in New York or New Jersey, an injured party must generally demonstrate the following elements:

Duty of Care: The property owner owed a legal duty to maintain a safe environment for those lawfully on the premises.
Breach of Duty: The owner or manager failed to meet this duty by neglecting to address or warn about dangerous conditions on the property.
Knowledge of the Hazard: The owner knew or should have reasonably known about the unsafe condition but did not take appropriate action to fix it or warn visitors. This can be proven through:
- Direct evidence that the owner was notified of the hazard.
- Store incident reports or maintenance logs.
- Testimony from employees or former visitors.
- Evidence that the condition existed for so long that the owner should have discovered it through reasonable inspection.
- Proof of recurring problems that the owner failed to permanently address.
- Causation: The hazardous condition directly caused the victim’s injury.
- Damages: The victim suffered actual harm or damages as a result of the injury, such as medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering.

In New Jersey, the extent of a property owner’s responsibility can vary depending on the status of the visitor:

Invitees: These are individuals invited onto the property for business purposes, like customers in a store. Property owners owe the highest duty of care to invitees, including regularly inspecting the premises and fixing known hazards.
Licensees: These are guests who are on the property for non-business reasons, such as social guests. Property owners must warn licensees of any known dangers that the guest is unlikely to discover on their own.
Trespassers: Generally, property owners owe limited duty to trespassers. However, they may still be liable if the trespasser is a child or if the hazard was intentionally dangerous.

New York, however, follows a “single standard of reasonable care” doctrine, meaning that property owners must maintain reasonably safe conditions for anyone entering their premises, regardless of whether they are invitees, licensees, or trespassers.

The Importance of “Notice”

A crucial element in premises liability cases is “notice.” Liability typically applies only when property owners had actual or constructive knowledge of hazardous conditions.

Actual notice means the property owner knew about the hazard directly.
Constructive notice means the owner should have known about the condition through reasonable inspections or because the hazard existed for a sufficient period.

Potential Compensation in a Premises Liability Case

With a successful premises liability lawsuit, an injured party may be entitled to compensation for various losses, including:

Medical expenses (past and future)
Lost wages (past and future)
Property damage
Pain and suffering
Emotional distress
Rehabilitative costs
Incidental expenses, such as travel costs

The Role of a Premises Liability Attorney

Premises liability cases can be complex and challenging to navigate. An experienced premises liability attorney can provide valuable assistance by:

Investigating the accident and gathering evidence to support your claim.
Determining the responsible parties and their insurance coverage.
Negotiating with insurance companies to reach a fair settlement.
Filing a lawsuit and representing you in court if necessary.
Consulting with experts to assess the full extent of your damages.

Defenses and Limitations

Property owners in New York and New Jersey have several potential defenses against premises liability claims. These may include:

Lack of Negligence: The property owner may argue that they were not negligent in maintaining the property or that the condition was not hazardous.
Comparative Negligence: The property owner may argue that the injured party was also negligent and contributed to their own injuries. In New Jersey, if the injured person is found to be more than 50% at fault, they cannot recover damages.
Assumption of Risk: The property owner may argue that the injured party knew about the dangerous condition and voluntarily assumed the risk of injury.
Lack of Notice: The property owner may argue that they did not have actual or constructive notice of the dangerous condition.

The Value of Expert Witnesses

In many premises liability cases, expert witnesses are crucial for establishing liability, causation, and damages. Some common types of experts include:

Safety Experts: These experts can testify about industry standards and safety practices for maintaining properties.
Accident Reconstruction Experts: These experts can reconstruct the accident scene and determine how the injury occurred.
Building Code Experts: These experts can assess whether the property complied with relevant building codes and safety regulations.
Medical Experts: These experts can provide testimony about the nature and extent of the victim’s injuries and their causal connection to the accident.
Biomechanics Experts: By analyzing the effects of internal and external forces acting on a body, these experts determine the causal effects of injuries.

Conclusion

Premises liability law plays a vital role in protecting individuals from harm caused by unsafe conditions on properties. Property owners in New York and New Jersey have a legal responsibility to maintain their premises in a reasonably safe condition and to warn visitors of any known dangers. If you have been injured on someone else’s property due to their negligence, it is essential to seek legal advice from an experienced premises liability attorney who can help you understand your rights and pursue the compensation you deserve. The addition of a seasoned litigator to Hinshaw’s NY/NJ defense team underscores the importance of having skilled legal representation in these complex cases.