New Brunswick Lawyer Handles Slip and Fall Claims
New Jersey firm secures compensation for clients in premises liability cases
After a slip and fall accident, you might require extensive medical treatment and go through months of pain. If your injury occurred on someone else’s premises, it might be a result of their failure to fulfill their legal responsibility to you. John VR. Strong, Jr. in New Brunswick has more than 40 years of legal experience as part of a law firm that has served Central Jersey clients for more than a century. Our firm gives clients from Middlesex, Somerset and Mercer Counties the opportunity to hold negligent property owners accountable by maximizing their compensation in slip and fall and trip and fall claims.
Common causes of slip and fall injuries
There are many ways in which a property owner’s failure to use reasonable care can result in their guest slipping or tripping, such as:
- Wet floors due to spilled liquid or moisture brought in from the outside
- Uncleared ice or snow on a sidewalk or in a parking lot
- Poor lighting
- Lack of handrails on stairways
- Damaged walking surfaces
- Obstructions that are difficult to see and unmarked
Often, fall-down accidents cause brutal injuries to a person’s physical well-being. We frequently see injuries to the neck, back, and lower extremities that are very painful and often require surgery. Our goal is to provide you with complete and compassionate representation as we work to achieve the best possible resolution.
Establishing fault in premises liability claims
You have two years from the date of your fall to file a personal injury lawsuit under New Jersey’s statute of limitations. To establish fault, a premises liability plaintiff must show the defendant had a duty of care to them. This is usually the case as long as the slip and fall victim was allowed to be on the premises where the incident occurred. From there, the plaintiff is required to demonstrate that the property owner or manager violated that duty of care, and that the violation was the cause of the fall.
Don’t be dissuaded from filing suit because you believe that you might be partly to blame for your injury. New Jersey’s comparative negligence rule allows plaintiffs to receive damages even if they share some responsibility for the incident, as long as their percentage of fault for the incident does not exceed 50 percent. In these cases, the award is reduced in accordance with the plaintiff’s proportionate liability. So if you incurred $100,000 in damages in a fall on a wet supermarket floor, but were held to be 20 percent responsible because you were looking at your cell phone, your award would be $80,000.
What to do after you’ve been hurt in a fall on someone else’s property
After you’ve suffered a slip and fall or trip and fall injury, the steps you take could be pivotal in your eventual legal claim. If your medical condition allows you to collect information at the scene, you should do so by taking photos of where you were hurt and getting the names of any witnesses. Failing to do this immediately might hurt your case because the property owner could remediate the problem by the time you return. As soon as possible, you should seek medical attention and secure legal representation to protect your rights.
Do not discuss a settlement with any potential defendant or their insurance company until you contact us concerning your fall-down accident. We will write to our professional engineer and arrange for an inspection of the accident scene. From there, the engineer will prepare a report that will be crucial to proving your case. Along with a description of the incident, the report might include violations of engineering codes and/or other regulations that could have contributed to your injury.
Contact a Central Jersey attorney for a free consultation about a slip and fall claim
John VR. Strong, Jr. works on behalf of individuals who have been hurt in slip and fall incidents on someone else’s property. Our firm offers a free initial consultation and serves residents of Middlesex, Somerset and Mercer Counties. Please call 732-979-2166 or contact us online for an appointment at our New Brunswick office. Se habla español.
