Proving Negligence in a Trip & Fall Case
Key Takeaways:
- Tripping and slipping are not the same. Tripping involves your foot striking an object or uneven surface, while slipping happens when you lose traction on a smooth or wet surface.
- Not every trip or slip results in a lawsuit. To have a case, you must prove the property owner knew, or should have known, about the hazard and failed to fix it or warn you about it.
- NYC property owners have legal duties. Owners must maintain sidewalks and premises. But to recover compensation, you’ll need evidence to prove they breached their duties.
NYC maintains a staggering 12,000 miles of sidewalks. Unfortunately, cracked and uneven pavements continue to trip up pedestrians, despite the city replacing more than two million square feet of sidewalk every year. And in winter, ice and snow can make pavements slippery, leading to slips and falls.
A single misstep can leave you injured, facing costly medical treatments, and time away from work. When this happens, you might wonder: Who’s responsible for my fall, and do I have a legal case?
The answer starts with understanding whether you tripped or slipped. The distinction matters under New York law and can affect which evidence you need to collect and even who might be liable.
What’s the Difference Between Tripping and Slipping?
The terms “trip and fall” and “slip and fall” are often used interchangeably, but they describe fundamentally different types of accidents with different causes:
- Trip and Fall. In a trip and fall, your foot typically strikes an object or an uneven surface that causes you to stumble and fall forward. Causes of trips and falls in NYC include cracked sidewalks, potholes, uneven flooring, exposed cables, or objects left in walkways.
- Slip and Fall. In a slip and fall,your foot loses traction on a surface, causing you to fall backward or to the side. Slips and falls usually occur on wet floors, icy patches, freshly waxed surfaces, or due to loose mats and rugs.
Why Does This Distinction Matter?
The distinction matters because the type of fall determines what evidence you need and what the property owner should have done to prevent it.
Trip and fall cases often focus on obstructions or uneven surfaces. The legal argument hinges on whether the property owner failed to repair or warn about a physical hazard that caused you to stumble.
In a slip and fall case, the emphasis is typically on sidewalk or floor surface conditions. Here, the question is whether the owner failed to mop up a spillage, apply salt, or post warning signs in a timely manner.
Each type of fall involves different expectations of property maintenance, different types of evidence, and sometimes even different liable parties (e.g., building owner vs. cleaning contractor).
When Is a Trip or Slip Considered Negligence in NYC?
Not every fall gives you grounds for a lawsuit. For example, you can’t sue just because you tripped due to wearing ill-fitting footwear. You must show that a hazard caused your fall, and a property owner failed in their legal duty to keep the premises reasonably safe.
To win a trip or slip and fall case in NYC, you must prove negligence with these four elements of a personal injury lawsuit:
- The property owner owed you a duty of care. Property owners are expected to maintain their premises in a reasonably safe condition for visitors.
- They breached that duty. The owner failed to fix a dangerous condition, failed to warn you about it, or created the hazard themselves.
- The breach caused your fall. The dangerous condition directly led to your injuries.
- You suffered actual damages. You have medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, or other measurable harm.
NYC Property Owner Responsibilities: What the Law Says
New York City property owners have specific legal obligations. Under the NYC Administrative Code § 7-210, they are responsible for maintaining the sidewalks adjacent to their buildings, including repairing cracks, holes, and uneven surfaces.
And, according to the New York City Department of Transportation, property owners must also remove snow, ice, and debris from sidewalks.
Owners or management of commercial properties, such as grocery stores and restaurants, are expected to regularly inspect for dangers that could cause fall accidents. Such hazards include wet floors from spills, torn carpeting, poor lighting in stairways, and uneven flooring.
Proving the Property Owner Knew of the Hazard
One of the trickiest parts of a premises liability case is proving the property owner had “notice” of the dangerous condition. This means that they knew or should have known about the dangerous condition. Like courts across the U.S., New York recognizes two types of notice, actual and constructive:
- Actual Notice: The property owner knew about the hazard. Maybe someone reported it, or the owner created it themselves (like mopping a floor and not putting up a warning sign).
- Constructive Notice: The hazard existed long enough that the owner should have discovered it during reasonable inspections. For example, a crack in the sidewalk that’s been there for months, or a spill that’s been on the floor for hours.
Proving constructive notice can be tricky. You might need to show that the dangerous condition was obvious, that it existed for a substantial time, and that the property owner failed to conduct inspections. To give yourself the best chance of recovering what you deserve, hire an experienced personal injury lawyer who knows NYC laws and regulations and can hold a responsible property owner accountable.
Injured in a NYC Fall? Berkowitz & Weitz Law, P.C. Can Help
Dealing with injuries from a fall is hard enough without navigating the legal process. But you don’t have to struggle alone. At Berkowitz & Weitz Law, P.C., we’ve spent nearly 30 years standing up for injured New Yorkers and have recovered millions of dollars for people just like you.
We work on a contingency fee basis, so you have no financial risk and don’t pay anything unless we win your case. The time to file a lawsuit is limited in NYC, so get started today and contact Berkowitz & Weitz Law, P.C. for a free consultation. We’ll review your fall accident and help you understand whether you have a claim.