Paramus Slip & Fall Lawyers

Dedicated representation for negligent harm caused by hidden hazards

There’s much to see and enjoy in the Garden State. Unfortunately, any excursion can come to a sudden, painful end, when a hidden hazard causes a slip-and-fall accident. Whether you’re dining out, shopping, taking in a movie, or listening to a concert, your host has a duty to make the venue reasonably safe for your visit. When a host breaches that duty, and visitors get hurt, it’s time to contact Razi & Giampa Law in Paramus. We are skilled trial lawyers, who are determined to recover the full compensation you deserve for your medical bills, lost income, physical pain, mental suffering, and all other losses.

When is a landlord responsible for a slip-and-fall injury?

As mentioned above, a landlord (or a tenant with control over a property) has a duty to make the premises reasonably safe for visitors, who might be invitees (i.e., customers or clients) or social guests. Landlords are expected to inspect the property to discover potential hazards, then either remediate the dangerous condition or provide adequate warning to any visitor who might encounter it. Landlords are held to a reasonable person standard, so the legal question is whether a reasonably conscientious landlord would have behaved in the same manner as the defendant.

Whether a landlord behaved reasonably depends on a number of factors, including:

• Protocols for inspecting the premises
• Actual or constructive knowledge of the hazard
• Time taken to respond to the hazard
• Quality of the landlord’s response

Take, for example, the classic case of the broken mayonnaise jar on the supermarket floor. If the store lacked protocols, such as frequent aisle inspections, employees trained to respond, and easily available wet floor signs, that would indicate they were unprepared for a foreseeable event. If the spill was allowed to remain on the floor for an inordinate period, that would also be unreasonable. However, if a customer shattered the jar then walked away, and only a few seconds later a different customer slipped, it would be difficult to blame store management, rather than the first customer.

Because slip-and-all accidents can be complex cases to prove, you should retain experienced and dedicated representation as quickly as possible.

Comparative negligence in NJ slip-and-fall accidents

New Jersey operates under a modified comparative negligence rule, which bars accident victims who are more than 50 percent at fault from recovering damages, and reduces a victim’s recovery in proportion to their fault. In slip-and-fall cases, this law often comes into effect when a defendant landlord claims a hazard was open and obvious, so any visitor could have assessed the risk and chosen to avoid it. In other words, the danger was so glaring, the victim only has himself to blame.

As your advocates, we defend you against allegations of comparative negligence, so you can recover the maximum amount of compensation possible.

What to do after a slip-and-fall accident

The nature of a slip-and-fall accident is such that landlords will act immediately to remove or repair the hazardous condition. This isn’t necessarily because they want to destroy evidence, but they certainly don’t want another visitor to be hurt. So, whether it’s a spill on the floor, a loose tile, a pothole, or any other hazard, chances are that by the time your attorney can visit the site, that hazard will be history.

You can help your legal case tremendously by documenting the hazard with cellphone photos and getting contact information from potential witnesses. You should also seek medical attention immediately. Going to an ER is the right thing to do for your health and safety, but that visit will also document your injury. If you wait a day or longer, the defendant landlord might allege that you were fine when you left the scene and some subsequent event must have caused you harm.

Finally, you should call a personal injury attorney as soon as you are able, so you can protect your right to file a successful injury claim.

Contact Razi & Giampa Law in Paramus for a free slip-and-fall accident consultation

Razi & Giampa Law in Paramus provides highly professional and personalized legal services for clients injured in slip-and-fall accidents in Bergen County and throughout New Jersey. To schedule a free consultation at our office, in your home, or at the hospital, call us today at 201-534-5011 or contact our firm online.