Slip and fall accidents can happen anywhere, but one of the most common places they occur is on sidewalks in public places. If you have fallen on a sidewalk, you can be injured in a variety of ways, and it’s important to know what to do if you are injured outside a commercial building.
Here some details about common sidewalk fall injuries and how a sidewalk injury attorney can help you.
Typical Injuries from a Sidewalk Accident
New Yorkers understand that the sidewalks around businesses can easily become dirty, wet, slippery, snowy, icy, damaged, or covered in debris. However, conditions can still take us by surprise and take a serious toll on the human body.
Here are some of the most common injuries that you might sustain if you fall on a NYC sidewalk:
- Concussions and other head injuries
- Soft tissue injuries
- Cuts and abrasions
- Bone breaks and fractures
- Spinal cord damage
- Sprained ankles
- Whiplash
When a Commercial Building Is at Fault
A slip and fall accident on a sidewalk could be due to a third-party attack, a pedestrian’s own carelessness, or the fault of a commercial or municipal entity. Here in New York City, falls often take place outside of McDonald’s restaurants, Home Depot stores, and Dunkin’ Donuts shops, for example.
Businesses have a responsibility to the public to keep their sidewalks free of dangerous conditions, but there are many factors that go into proving liability against an at-fault company. It is useful to show that the business owned the property where the accident took place. It can be more challenging to pursue a case if the business rents the space from a property owner, but this is also something we can help you with at the Law Office of Jeffrey K. Kestenbuam.
Many businesses and property owners have contracts with third parties to maintain the outside areas around their buildings, so these third-party maintenance companies could also be held liable for your injuries. But regardless of whose responsibility it was to keep the sidewalk safe, you’ll 7need to prove that the sidewalk was in an unsafe condition and that the responsible party knew or should have known about it.
What to Do After Your Sidewalk Injury
As with any slip and fall case, it is most important to seek medical attention for your injuries before anything else. Yet there are other things that you can do after a sidewalk injury outside a commercial building that will be very useful to prove your case. These include documenting the accident details in a report, taking photos, getting witness contact information, declining making any statements, keeping a symptom log, and contacting a sidewalk injury attorney.
The Role of a Sidewalk Injury Attorney
If you have been injured on a commercial sidewalk because of someone else’s negligence, you need a sidewalk injury attorney to help you win your case. These cases may seem straightforward at first but often involve comparative negligence because the plaintiff is partially to blame for the fall.
At the Law Office of Jeffrey K. Kestenbaum, we have been successful with many sidewalk injury outside commercial building cases and are here to help you 24/7. Contact our office at 718-237-5586 to discuss the details of your slip and fall case so that the liable party can be brought to justice and you can get financial assistance you need for medical treatment.
