We are urging New Jersey residents to stay inside and off the roads. But if you do go outside, you might be subject to many of the slip and fall incidents that are associated with winter storms. In the case of this storm, going outside might result in you getting blown away.
What You Need to Know
Let’s say that you walk outside of your home this evening after the weather starts to calm down. As your walking up and down your street’s sidewalk to check out any damage from the storm, you slip and fall on an icy sidewalk; severely injuring yourself in the process. At the hospital, you find out that you have a broken collarbone and fractured wrist. You’ll be out of work for weeks and stuck with a rather large medical bill.
First of all, you should know that you are not legally responsible for suffering an injury on another person’s or entity’s property. It is the property owner’s responsibility to keep the area safe. This is known as premises liability. The property owner is the one who should have realized the potential for danger and possibly treated the area with ice melt or something similar so no one would fall.
If the ice that caused your injury was in front of a building that’s rented out, the company who owns the building would be held responsible for any negative outcomes, including medical bills and related damages, going forward. If the state or township is responsible for the sidewalk you slipped on, the responsibility might lay directly in their hands.
In the rare instance you slipped and fell because of your own doing, then there is no one to blame but yourself for your costly actions. The cost of injuries and damages would have to come out of your pocket, not a property or business owner’s pocket.
In the end, anyone who goes outside after a severe winter storm should know the risks involved such as slipping, falling, or even getting blown away by hurricane-force winds. If any negligence occurred on behalf of a property owner, an injured defendant, be it you or anyone else, will have a fair chance to receive damages for the injury.
Injured? Contact Attorney Carbone!
Don’t let this winter’s second bomb cyclone be the reason you suffer from the damages associated with a slip and fall injury. Someone is at fault!
The Law Offices of Anthony Carbone have worked tirelessly, aggressively, and relentlessly for nearly 30 years to help you receive the damages you deserve. If you were injured during this most recent dose of winter weather, contact us today for a free consultation.