Premises Liability
We defend and prosecute all manner of premises liability actions such as slip-/trip and fall actions, dog bites, construction accidents, Labor Law actions and firefighter/police officer rule actions. Much of New York’s law regarding premise cases has changed over the last few years necessitating new methods and strategies in handling these types of suits. Of late, municipalities have enacted legislation effectively passing on tort liability in trip/slip and fall actions to abutting property owners with only limited restrictions. Therefore, claims that may have existed in the past may no longer exist and defenses, which had been successful in the past, are no longer effective.
New York also has a number of laws to protect emergency workers such as police officers and firefights as well as construction workers and others. These statutes, General Municipal Law Secs. 205-a, 205-e, General Obligations law Sec. 11-106 as well as labor Law sections 200, 202, 240, 241 all impose liability on property owners, tenants and contractors. In many instances, liability is not only imposed, but there is strict liability with no offset for the injured person’s culpable conduct. These statutes are very effective tools and can be used to secure substantial awards on behalf of injured persons. They are particularly problematic for property owners, tenants and contractors requiring a careful and well thought out defense.
We have also successfully represented clients in connection with cases in which people have been attacked in or on premises by reason of security lapses. Through the timely and effective use of expert witnesses and carefully crafted litigation plans we have been able to conclude these matters on favorable terms to our clients.
In addition to the more complex cases, we have handled significant numbers of homeowners cases involving trip and fall and slip and fall accidents in addition to negligent entrustment claims, “dog bites”, sports claims and others.
We stay abreast of these rapidly evolving areas and our experienced litigators are able to implement effective strategies to represent our clients in the most effective and favorable manner, so as to secure the best possible result.
