Property owners have a duty to provide a safe environment for visitors. Whether you are at a playground or walking the aisles of a store, you have a right to be safe. When you or a loved one is hurt due to a property owner’s negligence or carelessness, you deserve compensation.
At Towey Law, PLLC, our Buffalo premises liability attorneys have the skills and experience to recover the compensation you deserve. If you or a loved one has been injured due to a property owner’s carelessness, contact our Buffalo personal injury lawyers today for a free consultation by calling (716) 300-8232.
Why Choose A Buffalo Premises Liability Owner From Towey Law?
After an accident, it can be difficult to put the pieces of your life back together. At Towey Law, PLLC, our Buffalo personal injury attorneys see our clients as people, not numbers. We understand how profound the impact of an injury can be on not just your life, but the lives of your loved ones. For this reason, when we take a premises liability case, we work tirelessly to get the best possible outcome. We devote all of our resources, time, and energy to building strong cases for our clients and fighting to hold negligent parties accountable for your injuries.
- We offer free case evaluations with no obligation to retain our services. If you have questions, we want to provide answers.
- We provide direct communication with our attorneys and we will always provide regular updates on your case.
- We get results and have recovered millions of dollars on behalf of our clients.
- We have significant experience handling premises liability cases. We understand the issues involved, the laws, and how to achieve a successful result for our clients.
How Is Representation Crucial to Your Buffalo Premises Liability Claim?
If you or a loved one has been harmed on a property due to negligence, it is important to have experienced counsel. Premises liability is very complex and requires an attorney knowledgeable in the many intricacies of the law.
At Towey Law, PLLC, our premises liability lawyers will:
- Investigate every aspect of your case, including interviewing witnesses, obtaining available camera footage, and reviewing the medical reports
- Retain medical experts and investigators to gain critical evidence. Evidence isn’t always easy to find in premises liability cases, but we won’t hesitate to put our resources to work in order to build a strong case on your behalf.
- Negotiate a fair settlement on your behalf. We take the time to calculate how much insurance coverage is available and how much you will need now and in the future to move forward.
- If the insurance company of the liable party refuses to deal with you fairly, we are ready, willing, and able to represent you in court to fight for what you are owed.
With a premises liability claim, there will need to be four elements of negligence in place in order for a person to successfully recover compensation from another party.
- Duty of care. First, it must be shown that the property owner in question owed a duty of care to the injury victim. If the injury victim was in an area where they had a right to be when the injury occurred, then this element of negligence will likely be satisfied.
- Breach of duty. Next, it is essential to show that the property owner breached their duty of care towards the injury victim in some way. For a premises liability claim, a breach of duty could occur by the property owner failing to notify guests of known hazards or failing to remedy any known hazardous situation.
- Causation. After establishing that there was a breach of duty by the property owner, it needs to be shown that the injury was caused by the breach of duty.
- Damages. Finally, an attorney will help establish the monetary losses sustained by the victim, including medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and more.
How Is Premises Liability Defined in Buffalo?
In New York, property owners, property managers, landlords, tenants, and those who have control over the property have a duty to maintain the property in a reasonably safe condition. The duty of care is to exercise reasonable care under the circumstances, regardless of whether the plaintiff is an invitee, licensee, or trespasser. Property owners (or another responsible party) have a duty to remove hazardous conditions from their property that they knew about or reasonably should have known about. When property owners fail to uphold this duty of care and their negligence or carelessness causes someone to get injured, they may be held accountable through a premises liability claim.
Possible exceptions may include:
Trivial Defects – In some cases, trivial defects may be considered too small to be legally actionable. However, there are no exact standards for how big of a defect is dangerous. For this reason, this issue is entirely fact based.
Open and Obvious Conditions – For property conditions that may be considered open and obvious, a property owner may not be required to warn visitors. However, they still have a duty to maintain the premises in a safe manner and address or fix dangerous conditions.
The truth is that premises liability cases can be extremely complex and they often require a significant amount of evidence to prove liability. This can include:
- photographs
- phone, text, email, or social media correspondence
- video surveillance
- evidence gathered from the internet such as street view captures from mapping software
- witness testimony
- medical records
- expert testimony
If you have been injured as a result of a dangerous condition, it’s incredibly important that you speak with an attorney who understands how difficult these cases can be, what to look for, and how to build a strong case. For more information, consult with an experienced premises liability attorney at Towey Law.
Premises Liability Affects Thousands Every Year
When you are injured due to unsafe or dangerous conditions on someone’s property, you deserve justice. The esteemed legal team at Towey Law, PLLC has helped numerous Buffalo residents obtain the settlement they need to move on with their lives.
According to the latest data:
- More than 8 million people visit hospital emergency rooms due to a slip and fall every year.
- 17,000 people are hurt due to elevators and escalators each year.
- Toxic exposure and chemical exposure have injured over 15,000 people in the last ten years.
Slip and Fall Incidents – Some of the Most Common Premises Liability Claims
Data indicates that falls result in more than 8 million emergency room visits each year across the country and that slip and fall incidents account for one million of these visits, or 12% of all falls that result in ER visits.
According to the National Safety Council, fall incidents are 100% preventable. If these incidents are 100% preventable, then it certainly is not out of line to question property owner liability after a fall injury occurs. Unfortunately, slip and fall incidents occur regularly due to the negligent actions of property owners, including failing to adequately train employees about slip and fall risks and even failing to take basic steps to remedy known hazards.
In Buffalo, slip and fall incidents tend to be more likely because of our winter weather. We deal with plenty of ice and snow, and these are slip and fall hazards in their own right. However, ice and snow often lead to wet conditions near the entrances and exits of buildings, and property owners need to be aware of these additional hazards.
Compensation for a Buffalo Premises Liability Claim
Individuals who successfully file a claim against another party for a premises liability incident in Buffalo may be able to recover various types of compensation. At Towey Law, PLLC, our team works diligently to recover both “special” and “general” damages.
- Special damages. These are often referred to as economic damages, and they revolve around calculable expenses premises liability victims may incur as a result of their injuries and the aftermath. We can look at receipts and bills and speak to trusted economic experts to help adequately calculate the following losses:
- Emergency and ongoing medical expenses
- Rehabilitation, physical therapy, or medical devices
- Lost wages and loss of future income
- Household out-of-pocket expenses
- General damages. These are often referred to as non-economic damages, and they revolve around more immeasurable losses A premises liability victim will likely incur. This can include a victim’s:
- Physical pain and suffering damages
- Emotional and psychological pain and suffering damages
- Loss of quality of life or loss of enjoyment of life damages
There is no specific amount of compensation awarded to Buffalo premises liability victims if their claim against the other party is successful. Several factors can affect the overall compensation amount, such as the initial severity of the injuries, how long it takes a victim to recover, and whether or not there was any shared fault for the claim. The overall insurance policy monetary limitations and the overall assets of the at-fault party could be taken into account when determining how much compensation a victim receives.
How Long Do You Have to File Your Claim?
Individuals who need to file an injury claim against another party have a limited amount of time to do so. Per the New York personal injury statute of limitations, injury victims have three years from the date an incident occurs to file a lawsuit against the alleged negligent party.
Civil Practice Law & Rules (CVP) CHAPTER 8, ARTICLE 2 § 214.
Actions to be commenced within three years: for non-payment of money collected on execution; for penalty created by statute; to recover chattel; for injury to property; for personal injury; for malpractice other than medical, dental or podiatric malpractice; to annul a marriage on the ground of fraud. The following actions must be commenced within three years:
…5. an action to recover damages for a personal injury except as provided in sections 214-b, 214-c, 214-i and 215;
Of course, there are several situations that may lengthen or shorten the filling window so it is important that you speak with an attorney as soon as possible. Failing to file a lawsuit within this time frame will almost certainly result in a case dismissal, leaving the victim unable to recover compensation for their losses.
There are often insurance carriers involved in premises liability claims. There are almost always insurance carriers involved. These carriers will have their internal reporting deadlines that you should be aware of. It is important to promptly file your insurance claim with these carriers. There may be some confusion about how to do this, and we encourage you to speak to an attorney as soon as possible. Your lawyer can file an insurance claim on your behalf and handle all communication with the insurance claims adjusters.
How Much Does a Premises Liability Lawyer Charge?
At Towey Law, PLLC, we handle premises liability cases in Buffalo on a contingency fee basis. This means that injury victims pay absolutely no legal fees until after we successfully recover compensation for their losses. We handle all the upfront costs related to the case, and if we do not win, clients pay us absolutely nothing. The final legal fee, if we are successful, will be an agreed-upon percentage of the settlement or jury verdict amount.
This arrangement is known as a contingency fee and we believe that it allows anyone the opportunity to access the best possible legal representation, regardless of their ability to pay.
Our Buffalo Premises Liability Attorneys Handle Many Types of Claims
At Towey Law, PLLC, we believe negligent parties should be held accountable for the injuries their property caused. We understand the impact serious injuries can have on your life. Call our premises liability lawyers in Buffalo today. We have the skills necessary to secure the compensation you deserve.
We handle cases involving:
- Slip & fall accidents
- Dog bites
- Swimming pool accidents
- Amusement Park accidents
- Snow and ice accidents
- Defective conditions on the property
- Inadequate maintenance of the property
- Elevator and escalator accidents
- Fires, including smoke inhalation
- Water leaks and flooding
- Toxic fumes and chemical exposure
- Dangerous conditions on sidewalks
- Roof collapses
- Poorly lit stairwells
- Uneven steps
- Loose or uneven floor tiles
- Broken stairs or staircases
- Missing, loose, or broken hand or guardrails
- Negligent or inadequate security
- and more
Call a Buffalo Premises Liability Attorney Today
If you or somebody you care about has been injured by the negligent actions of a property owner in the Buffalo area, we encourage you to contact an attorney immediately. You need a team with extensive experience handling complex injury claims by your side, and we want to help. At Towey Law, PLLC, we are ready to stand by your side when you need a Buffalo premises liability attorney,
Schedule a free consultation today by clicking here or calling (716) 300-8232.