NYC Slip and Fall Lawyer
If you’ve recently slipped and fell in New York City, it’s time to call The Platta Law Firm for help. You have rights, including the ability to hold a negligent business or property owner responsible for your accident. A NYC slip and fall lawyer can help you maximize your compensation. The Platta Law Firm is a respected leader in personal injury litigation in New York.
Our award-winning trial attorneys have over 150 years of combined experience taking on insurance companies, employers, and other powerful defendants. Our results speak volumes, with hundreds of millions of dollars recovered for clients like you. Contact our law office in New York City at (212) 514-5100 to find out why you’ll want us fighting for you after your slip and fall accident. Your first consultation is free.
The Platta Law Firm Can Help You Maximize Your Slip and Fall Recovery
The property owner and their insurance company will fight your slip and fall injury claim every step of the way. They’ll do everything possible to stand between you and the compensation you deserve. Hiring an experienced NYC slip and fall lawyer is the best way to protect yourself, win your case, and get the maximum recovery you deserve. Your choice of attorney matters. Here’s why you won’t want to waste another moment before calling The Platta Law Firm for help:
- We’ve been recognized by Super Lawyers, Lawyers of Distinction, and the American Institute of Personal Injury Attorneys for our client-first approach and consistent case results.
- Our tenacity and determination have helped us change the law to benefit New York City’s workers.
- Collectively, our award-winning New York slip and fall attorneys have over 150 years of experience litigating tough personal injury cases.
- We’ve forced insurance companies to compensate our clients hundreds of millions.
- Hundreds of Facebook and Google reviews highlight the benefits of working with our top-rated legal team.
- There’s no cost to hire an NYC slip and fall lawyer unless we win compensation for your case.
- We offer a free consultation so that you can explore your rights and learn about the benefits of working with our top-rated legal team.
You’re going through a difficult time. You’ll get through it, and The Platta Law Firm will be there to help you every step of the way. We represent slip and fall accident victims in Manhattan, the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, Long Island, Rockland, Westchester, and other neighborhoods in the tri-state area. Contact our NYC law office at (212) 514-5100 today to schedule a free consultation. We can take your call 24/7.
Millions Recovered for Slip and Fall
Accident Victims
At The Platta Law Firm, we have a demonstrated ability to win life-changing results for victims of slip and fall accidents in New York City. Notable recoveries include:
- $3.25 million for a worker who suffered lumbar spine injuries when he slipped and fell on plastic sheeting.
- $3.1 million for a construction worker who slipped and fell while climbing off of a defective ladder.
- $2.2 million for a laborer who slipped and fell on ice that had accumulated on a roof.
- $845,000 for a construction worker who slipped and fell on a tarp on a job site.
- $800,000 for a client who slipped and fell on an icy sidewalk outside a Brooklyn store.
Don’t settle for less than your slip and fall accident case is worth. Let our accomplished slip and fall accident lawyers in NYC help you maximize your recovery. Call our New York City law office at (212) 514-5100 today to discuss the details of your case.
Common Slip and Fall Injuries Handled by a
Slip and Fall Lawyer
Slips and falls can be catastrophic. In fact, more than one million people visit the emergency room annually for slip and fall-related injuries.
In these accidents, a slick or unsecured surface causes your foot to slide out in front of your body.
Your lower half follows while your torso and upper body fall backward. As a result, some of the most common slip and fall accident injuries include:
- Broken Bones: Fractures to the back, neck, and skull are all common since it can be difficult to catch yourself when falling backward.
- Brain Injury: Concussions, hemorrhages, and other brain injuries can happen when you slip and hit your head.
- Back Injury: Slips and falls can cause disc injuries, vertebral fractures, and other trauma to the back.
- Spinal Cord Injury: Any trauma to your back can potentially affect your spinal cord.
- Soft Tissue Injury: Sprains and strains can happen when you twist, turn, or strike a hard object during a fall.
- Neck Injury: Ligaments, tissue, and muscles can become damaged if your neck makes a back-and-forth motion during a fall.
- Nerve Damage: When you fall, your nerves can get cut, crushed, or torn, affecting your brain’s communication ability and paralysis.
- Catastrophic Injury: Some injuries can be so disastrous that they fundamentally change how you live.
- Wrongful Death: When injuries are severe enough, victims of slip and fall accidents can die.
Slips and Falls Can Happen Anywhere in NYC
Slip and fall accidents can happen just about anywhere in New York City. At The Platta Law Firm, we represent clients in slip and fall cases involving:
- Construction accidents
- Workplace accidents
- Hospitals and nursing homes, schools, daycare centers, and universities
- Gyms and exercise centers, sports arenas, and parks and playgrounds
- Sidewalk accidents
- Parking lot and parking garage accidents
- Pedestrian accidents
- Subway platform accidents
- Boating accidents
What Damages Can I Get If I Was Hurt in a
Slip and Fall?
Slips and falls happen when property owners fail to maintain their premises reasonably safe.
When you get hurt as a result, you reserve the right to seek compensatory damages if you file an insurance claim or lawsuit.
Our New York slip and fall accident attorneys can help you seek compensation for:
- Medical Expenses: This category includes transportation to the hospital, ER services, hospital care, physician fees, labs, radiographic tests, scans, nursing and rehabilitation.
- Home Care: Continuing rehabilitation, nursing care, outside tests, out-of-pocket expenses, medical devices such as wheelchairs and prosthetics and home modification to accommodate disabilities.
- Lost Income: Wages and freelance income are recoverable. This includes benefits, commissions, and other perks. You can also file a reduced earning capacity when you need to take a lower-paying job until retirement.
- Loss of Consortium: Your spouse can concurrently file a loss of consortium claim for the lack of companionship and physical comfort they previously enjoyed.
- Emotional and Psychological Anguish: This category includes anxiety, loss of enjoyment of life, chronic physical pain, depression, irritability and PTSD caused by the accident.
- Disfigurement and Scarring: This trauma may not be recoverable from an insurance company. However, a lawsuit can help procure treatment compensation.
- Funeral and Burial Expenses: The family may file a wrongful death lawsuit to reclaim end-of-life expenses, loss of income the deceased provided and the cost of paying for household jobs they once handled.
What is a Trip and Fall Accident?
Trip and fall accidents happen when an object or hazard obstructs your foot. When your foot strikes or gets caught on the hazard, momentum carries your upper body forward while your lower half stays in place. If your opposite foot can’t move forward to help you maintain balance, it will cause you to fall forward rapidly. This can cause serious, potentially life-changing injuries, including:
- Broken bones, usually involving the fingers, hands, knees, arms, and feet
- Facial and dental fractures
- Eye injuries
- Concussions and other traumatic brain injuries
- Sprains, strains, and soft tissue injuries
- Back injuries and spinal cord damage
- Nerve damage
- Catastrophic injuries
- Death
What Causes Most Trips and Falls?
Trip and fall accidents can occur due to various reasons. Here are some common causes:
- Uneven Surfaces: Sidewalks, parking lots, and floors with cracks or other irregularities can easily cause someone to trip and fall.
- Obstacles: Objects left in walkways, such as cables, wires, or debris, create tripping hazards.
- Poor Lighting: Inadequate lighting in indoor or outdoor spaces can obscure obstacles and changes in elevation, increasing the risk of tripping.
- Wet or Slippery Surfaces: Spills, rain, snow, or recently mopped floors can make surfaces slippery.
- Loose Floor Coverings: Loose rugs, carpets, or mats that aren’t adequately secured can quickly shift up.
- Stairs: Lack of handrails, uneven steps, or poor visibility on staircases can lead to falls.
- Weather Conditions: Ice, snow, rain, or fog can make outdoor surfaces slippery.
- Improper Footing: Walking on unstable surfaces can lead to loss of balance and falls.
- Inadequate Signage: Lack of warning signs for hazards like wet floors, construction zones, or changes in elevation can catch people off guard and result in falls.
Preventing trip and fall accidents involves addressing these factors through measures like regular maintenance of walking surfaces, proper signage, adequate lighting, and promoting awareness of potential hazards among individuals in both public and private spaces.
How Much Is My New York Slip, Trip and Fall
Claim Worth?
Some slips, trips and falls can be relatively uneventful. Others can be catastrophic. At the end of the day, your slip, trip and fall case will differ from anyone else’s. The details that make your story unique will ultimately be what drives valuation. Several factors can affect how much money you might be able to recover through a slip, trip and fall injury claim:
- Where did you trip and fall?
- What insurance benefits are available?
- What are the policy limits?
- What injuries have you suffered?
- Are those injuries permanently disabling or catastrophic?
- Have your injuries forced you to stop working?
- Do you anticipate a temporary or permanent income or earning capacity change?
- Were you injured while working in New York City?
- Has the trip and fall accident changed your quality of life?
- How old are you?
- Are you getting blamed for the trip and fall accident?
The best way to understand what your trip and fall claim might be worth is to sit down with an experienced personal injury attorney near you in NYC. At The Platta Law Firm, we’ve helped slip, trip and fall victims win millions in private settlements and jury awards. We can evaluate your case and help you fight to win big, too.
Will Workers’ Compensation Cover a
Slip, Trip and Fall Injury?
As long as you are a qualifying employee whose slip, trip and fall accident was work-related, workers’ compensation should cover the resulting injuries. Workers’ compensation can help you get benefits for medical bills, temporary lost wages, disability, and/or death.
What is the Statute of Limitations for New York Slip, Trip and Fall Accident Lawsuits?
When you slip, trip and fall on someone else’s property in New York, you will have a limited time to file a legal claim for damages. The statute of limitations for personal injury cases is three years. If you’ve suffered the wrongful death of a family member because of a slip, trip and fall in NYC, you’ll have two years to take legal action. You must assert your right to seek damages before the statute of limitations expires. Once time runs out, you’ll be left to deal with the burden of your slip, trip and fall injuries on your own.
Slip and Fall Accident Attorney FAQ
You probably have many questions after a slip, trip, or fall in New York. A New York slip-and-fall lawyer has the answers you need.
Do I Qualify for Workers’ Compensation If I Slipped and Fell at Work?
Falls are one of the leading causes of workplace injuries and deaths. Fortunately, you may qualify for workers’ compensation benefits if:
- You work for an employer that’s legally required to carry workers’ compensation insurance
- Your slip, trip and fall accident happened while you were performing job-related tasks or responsibilities, and
- You are classified as an employee, not an independent contractor.
Workers’ compensation benefits can help you make up for a percentage of your lost wages, pay for your reasonable and necessary medical expenses, and provide disability benefits if you cannot work in some capacity. Our NYC workers’ compensation lawyers can help you explore your rights if you fell at work and got hurt. Don’t hesitate to contact us at (212) 514-5100 to discuss your slip and fall case today.
How is a Slip and Fall Different From a Trip and Fall?
The phrases “slip and fall accident” and “trip and fall accident” tend to be used interchangeably. However, they are two distinct types of accidents. A slick or slippery surface causes your foot/feet to lose traction and slide forward in a slip and fall. Your bottom half moves forward rapidly, throwing you off balance and causing your top half to fall backward. It’s common to suffer injuries to the back of the body.
On the other hand, an object or obstruction causes your foot/feet to get stuck in a trip and fall. Momentum carries your top half forward rapidly. It’s common to suffer injuries to the front of the body, face, and extremities in a trip-and-fall.
Can I Sue the City If I Slip and Fall on Public Property?
Possibly, yes. The government is typically immune from personal injury lawsuits. However, there is an exception when an agent’s negligence contributes to or causes an accident. If you can demonstrate that a hazardous condition existed on public property and those in charge knew or should have known about it but did nothing to fix it, you may be able to hold them accountable in a lawsuit against the government agency. Government tort claims are complicated, subject to different time limits, and best handled by an experienced personal injury lawyer near you in New York.
What Causes Most Slips and Falls?
Some of the leading causes of slip and fall accidents in NYC include:
- Slick floors from spills, puddles, or waxing
- Unsecured rugs and carpeting
- Debris and clutter
- Loose electrical wires or cables
- Ice
- Inadequate lighting
If you can prove that the property owner knew or should have known about a slip-and-fall hazard and failed to fix it or provide an adequate warning, you may be able to hold them accountable for your resulting injuries.
A Trusted New York Slip and Fall Attorney Ready
to Fight for You
After a slip and fall accident in New York, asking for help is essential. You may be entitled to compensation from a negligent property owner. The Platta Law Firm has the experience and skills to make the most of your fight for compensation.
Our New York slip and fall accident lawyers have over 150 years of combined experience. We’ve successfully won hundreds of millions in compensation for our clients. Let our award-winning legal team fight for you. Call our New York law office today at (212) 514-5100 to get started with a free, no-obligation case assessment.
