Who’s Responsible for a Slip and Fall in a Store or Apartment Building?

 

Executive Summary: Property owners, landlords, and managers have a duty to keep their spaces safe. If you slip and fall due to a hazard they ignored, they may be held responsible. To prove liability, you must demonstrate that the hazard existed and that the responsible party was aware of it and failed to rectify it. New York law allows you to recover damages even if you were partly at fault.

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If you slip and fall in a grocery store, apartment hallway, or office lobby, you might assume it’s just bad luck. But in many cases, someone else may be responsible for the unsafe condition that caused your injury. The truth is, property owners and managers in New York have a legal duty to keep their premises safe. If they don’t, and someone gets hurt, they can be held liable.

Slip and fall injuries aren’t always simple. Knowing who may be responsible is the first step in understanding whether you have a case.

When Is a Property Owner Responsible?

In New York, property owners and those in control of a space—like landlords or store managers—are expected to fix unsafe conditions. They must also warn people about hazards that aren’t obvious. This applies to both commercial and residential properties.

Common hazards include:

• Wet or slippery floors
• Broken or uneven sidewalks
• Loose handrails or stair treads
• Poor lighting in hallways or stairwells
• Ice and snow that hasn’t been cleared

To hold someone liable for your fall, you need to prove that:

1. A dangerous condition existed
2. The owner or manager knew about it (or should have known)
3. They failed to fix it or warn people in time

If the hazard was something that just happened, like a drink spilled 30 seconds earlier, they might not be responsible. But if it sat there for 20 minutes and no one cleaned it up, that could make them liable.

What About Apartment Buildings?

Landlords must keep common areas like hallways, lobbies, and stairs safe. If you fall due to a broken step, poor lighting, or a leak, the building owner could be at fault. But if you slip inside a tenant’s private unit, the landlord may not be responsible unless they knew about the problem and failed to fix it.

In many cases, maintenance companies, cleaning crews, or property managers may also be partly responsible. For example, if a company is hired to shovel snow and fails to do it, they could be named in a claim along with the landlord.

New York law also recognizes a legal concept called “comparative negligence.” That means if you were partly at fault, like texting while walking, your compensation may be reduced. However, you can still recover damages if the property owner was also to blame.

Call Silberstein & Miklos to Find Out If You Have a Case

Slip and fall cases in NYC can be hard to prove, but we don’t shy away from tough cases. At Silberstein & Miklos, we dig deep, take on cases others reject, and fight for the injured no matter how far we have to take it. If you slipped and got hurt, we want to hear your story. Call us today for a free consultation.