Do I have a claim if I slip and fall on another person’s property?

child in a snow

Many people ask whether they can file a claim against someone because they were at their home or at their business and they fell. It is not true that you can file a claim for recovery of damages in every instance when you fall on another person’s property. You have to prove that the individual who owned the property or who was responsible for the property did something wrong. There has to be negligence. You can recover for negligence. That means that you have to show that the individual owner or controller of the property knew or should have known of the dangerous condition on the property and either did not warn you of that in time for you to take evasive action, or did not make the area safe.

That would tell you, very simply, that you can’t just file a claim because of falling on another person’s property. The fall could have been partly your fault. That always comes into play. The simple answer is you can’t answer that for everyone, but you can only answer that if you look at the evidence and the details and determine after you’ve looked at that whether the elements of the claim are met. The best way to do that is to consult a personal injury attorney who is familiar with handling slip/fall accidents and personal injuries on other people’s property.

The law firm of Mattleman, Weinroth & Miller, P.C., is composed of experienced personal injury attorneys throughout the state of New Jersey. Please contact the office for a free initial consultation and get any questions answered regarding your specific case.