Due to the popularity of the McDonald’s fast food chain, there are dozens of McDonald’s restaurants all across New York City. These places are common sites of slip and fall accidents, which can cause severe injuries that have long-term consequences for your health and finances.

Here’s what New Yorkers need to know about slip and fall McDonald’s accidents and when it’s time to call a local personal injury lawyer for help.

How Slip and Fall McDonald’s Accidents Happen

Slip and fall accidents can happen anywhere, but they are especially common in and around McDonald’s restaurants because they tend to be busy and crowded all throughout the day. Spills often happen inside a McDonald’s because customers are distracted while carrying food and beverages to their tables and because staff members are in a hurry to serve customers.

Leaks in the bathroom plumbing can make floors slippery, while rainy and snowy New York weather can create hazards if mats are not placed at the entrances and secured properly. If sidewalks are cracked or pavement is uneven in the parking lot, slip and fall McDonald’s accidents can happen here too.

Common Injuries from Accidents at McDonald’s

When clients come to our law office after an accident in a McDonald’s, they have often suffered bone fractures, back and neck injuries, and head trauma. Concussions, lumbar injuries, and cervical spine injuries are common after this type of incident that leaves a person in pain on a fast food restaurant floor.

If you have suffered from any of these common slip and fall injuries, or even if you think you feel fine when you get up, it’s important to seek medical treatment as soon as possible in case your body is in shock from the fall or if you’ve aggravated an existing condition that isn’t noticeable right away. If you’re physically able, try to take a few photos of the accident scene for future evidence and report your accident to McDonald’s management. Ask people who saw your accident happen for their contact information in case you need witness statements later to prove your case.

Proving Fault in Your Claim Against McDonald’s

As with any personal injury case, it is necessary to prove fault and show that someone else was responsible for the accident that left you injured. Depending upon the circumstances of your case, you might be able to sue the McDonald’s franchise owner, the McDonald’s corporation, or an individual staff member or customer onsite.

But to do so, you must have proof that the person or company had a duty to keep you safe at the McDonald’s, that they were aware of the condition that caused your accident, and that they breeched this duty by not responding or at least not responding inappropriately to correct it. The amount of time that the hazard was in place before your accident and your own potential carelessness are also factors that could affect proving fault in a situation like this.

Damages to Recover for Your Case

After falling in a NYC McDonald’s you may be stuck with mounting medical bills to treat your injuries and provide for long-term rehabilitation. These are often recoverable damages that you can pursue with an experienced attorney by your side.

Keep records of your emergency room visit, costs for x-rays and blood tests, follow-up care with your doctor, and physical therapy costs to submit for your case. You might also be able to recover damages for lost wages if you had to miss work because of your McDonald’s accident, as well as damages for pain and suffering if you experienced depression, PTSD, or other types of directly related mental anguish.

Why Call a Slip and Fall McDonald’s Accident Attorney

If you or someone you care about has slipped and fallen in a McDonald’s in New York City, call the Law Office of Jeffrey Kestenbaum right away. We have represented many people who have had accidents in McDonald’s and other fast food restaurants and been successful in bringing the at-fault parties to justice and securing compensation for our clients. For a free McDonald’s slip and fall consultation, contact us at 718-237-5586 or via online form.

With more time being spent at home these days and also an increasing interest in budget-friendly DIY solutions, homeowners have been shopping at Home Depot a lot lately. This popular home improvement store is filled with everything you need to repair and renovate your house. But it can also pose certain risks and dangers because of how these stores are set up and the types of products being sold here.

If you have been injured in a Home Depot store, here’s what you need to know about pursuing a claim and how a local slip and fall accident attorney can help.

Causes of Slip and Fall Home Depot Accidents

Like other retail establishments, Home Depot stores have a responsibility to their customers to maintain a safe and clean environment for shopping. If a store does not uphold this responsibility, it can be held liable for a person’s injuries that occurred because of a fall.

One common reason for a slip and fall in Home Depot is a liquid spill from a leaking cleaning product or a wet floor from watering around the garden center. Construction materials left out in aisles can pose dangers to shoppers, as well as boxes that can be tripped over or stacked haphazardly. People have also been injured in Home Depot stores due to recently mopped floors without proper warning signage, paint spills, poor lighting, wet entryways after rain or show, and potholes in the parking lot.

Actions to Take after A Slip and Fall at Home Depot

While they might seem minor at first, slip and fall accidents in Home Depot stores can cause severe injuries that result in high medical bills and long-term damage to your health. From bruises to broken bones and injuries to the neck, back, and spinal cord, it’s important to seek medical treatment right away after an in-store incident. Not only is immediate treatment the best course of action to care for your health, but it also helps your case by eliminating the defense’s potential argument that you made your own injuries worse by delaying treatment.

If possible, take photos of the accident scene and your injuries to preserve as evidence. Make sure to keep the clothes and shoes that you were wearing at the time of the accident as well. Let a manager at the Home Depot know that you were injured and get a copy of the accident report that was filed in the store or by the police. Do not accept blame for the accident and avoid making any public statements until you speak with a slip and fall lawyer.

How Slip and Fall Home Depot Claims Are Settled

Similar to other types of personal injury claims, slip and fall Home Depot claims require proof that the store owned, occupied, or controlled the property it is located on and that it was negligent in maintaining that property. As a fall victim, you must prove that you were injured and that Home Depot’s negligence caused your injuries. To pursue a successful case against the store and company, you should also be able to show that you were not being careless, that you weren’t ignoring warning signs or employee advice, and that you weren’t distracted to a point of causing your own injuries.

Various pieces of evidence can help you settle your claim faster and to your advantage, such as video surveillance, witness testimony, and medical documentation of your injuries. Having competent legal counsel on your side will also go a long way in being successful when you’re up against a huge corporation like Home Depot.

The Importance of Contacting a Local Slip and Fall Attorney

Far too often, shoppers initially disregard their injuries as no big deal only to discover how devastating their pain is weeks or months later. The Law Office of Jeffrey K. Kestenbaum provides dedicated and aggressive representation in New York to help you be successful in recovering the maximum settlement for your case.

For a free Home Depot accident case review, contact our office online or at 718-237-5586.

On average, New York City gets around 25 inches of snow each year, and this snow is often accompanied by ice that makes getting around much more challenging. Although slip-and-fall accidents due to ice are very common, their severity should not be minimized because of how devastating a person’s injuries can be.

Here’s an answer to the common question of “Can I sue by apartment complex for falling on ice?” so that you can get the legal help you need after a fall.

Common Injuries from Ice-Related Falls

There is no denying that ice is slippery and that people of any age and level of agility can fall while walking on ice. When sidewalks are not cleared of ice, they become very dangerous because ice is not always visible during winter storms. Common injuries that result from these falls include broken and fractured bones, concussions, muscle strains, and neck and back injuries from the sudden jolt of a fall.

When a Landlord or Apartment Complex Is at Fault

Landlords have certain responsibilities during the winter months, such as removing snow from sidewalks that are adjacent to their properties within four hours if the snow ceases after 7am and before 5pm. If the snow stops between 5pm and 9pm, landlords have 14 hours to clear it away. And if it stops between 9pm and 7am, the snow must be cleared by 11am the next day. Snow removal is very important because if it starts to melt and become liquid, that water could refreeze and turn into a dangerously icy situation.

If a landlord does not follow these New York City Department of Sanitation guidelines, he or she could be held liable for negligence. The lease you signed with your landlord may also dictate how snow removal must be done. A landlord or apartment complex may be liable for your accident if you or a neighbor provided notification about the icy condition and nothing was done for an unreasonable amount of time. Pursuing a successful case will require you and your attorney to prove that an icy condition existed, that the landlord or apartment complex knew about the condition, and that the responsible person failed to remedy it in a timely way.

What to Do After Your Slip-and-Fall Accident

Aside from taking care of your injuries and seeking treatment as soon as possible, it is important to collect as much evidence as possible after falling on ice at your apartment complex. Check your lease for any details about snow and ice removal and make copies of letters and emails that provide documentation about icy conditions. Make sure to take photos of the icy conditions before they melt, gather witness statements from other residents who also noticed the ice, and get copies of your medical records that document your accident-related injuries.

At this point, it’s a wise decision to call the Law Office of Jeffrey K. Kestenbaum to help you with accident reconstruction, navigating insurance company offers, and proving that your landlord or apartment complex was to blame. If you have slipped and fallen on ice, contact us online or at 718-237-5586 for a free case review.

New Yorkers typically visit grocery stores at least once a week to stock up on food and supplies to prepare meals at home. Having an accident in a grocery store is usually the last thing on our minds as we move through the aisles, but these retail establishments are actually a major cause of injuries because of someone else’s negligence.

Here are some details about how grocery store accidents often occur and how a Brooklyn injury attorney can help with grocery store slip and fall settlements.

Common Causes of Grocery Store Accidents

One of the most common ways that people fall in grocery stores is by tripping over the carpet or mat by the front door. These are in place to reduce wetness when coming in from the outdoors, but they can also pose tripping hazards when they become bunched-up or torn.

Liquid spills, either from an employee mopping the floors or a shopper knocking a liquid item off a shelf, also cause falls. Even solid spills, such as a bag of rice, can be fall hazards. Loose packing materials left on the ground, ice that escapes onto the floor in the freezer aisle, and pooled water by the produce misters can also make you fall while you’re shopping.

Proving Negligence Against a Grocery Store

Grocery stores have a responsibility to keep shoppers safe from hazards, which means that you can sue a grocery store for a premises liability claim after an injury. Even if the grocery store did not create the hazard, it can be held liable for a person’s slip-and-fall injuries if staff was made aware of the condition and did not fix it in a timely way. Therefore, you’ll need to be able to prove that the grocery store staff allowed a spill, torn carpet, or other hazard to exist for an unreasonably long time after being told it existed.

If you slipped and fell immediately after a spill happened, the grocery store probably could not be held liable because there was no reasonable way for a staff member to tend to it before you got there. You may also need to prove that you were exercising reasonable caution while shopping in the store and that you weren’t too distracted to safely avoid a hazardous condition.

Get Help with Your Grocery Store Injury Case

Taking on a grocery store after you’ve slipped and fallen can feel like an uphill battle if you don’t have an experienced lawyer on your side. At the Law Office of Jeffrey K. Kestenbaum, we will meticulously investigate your claim to find out who was to blame for your injuries by accessing surveillance tapes, interviewing witnesses, and linking injuries documented in your medical records to the accident that occurred.

We understand how dangerous grocery stores can be if they aren’t properly maintained, and we will fight for you and stand up for your rights to the fullest extent of the law. Contact us at 718-237-5586 for your free slip and fall consultation to get started.

Slip and fall accidents can happen essentially anywhere, but one of the most common places they occur in New York City is at apartment complexes. Nearly two-thirds of New Yorkers rent apartments, and many of these renters have valid legal claims against an at-fault party because of a fall.

From the moment you are injured to being compensated for damages, here’s what you should know about filing a slip and fall apartment complex claim.

Common Causes of Apartment Accidents

At times, the injured person is to blame for slip and fall accident in an apartment complex because he or she wasn’t being cautious or was under the influence of drugs or alcohol. But at other times, a landlord could be negligent because of failure to provide a safe place to live and move around. Examples of landlord negligence include failure to remove snow and ice from apartment complex sidewalks, not providing adequate lighting in common areas, and not fixing broken flooring that could cause a person to slip and fall. Broken staircases and failure to put up cautionary signage when repairs are being made may also be linked to landlord negligence .

Assess Your Injuries and Seek Treatment

The first thing to do after any accident is to take care of yourself and seek medical treatment for any injuries that you have suffered. Common injuries that occur after slip and fall apartment complex accidents are broken bones, and concussions if you hit your head during the fall. Falls down flights of stairs and outside near traffic can cause particularly serious injuries that may require extensive procedures and follow-up appointments.

Collect as Much Evidence as Possible

If you believe that someone else, such as your landlord, is to blame for your accident, it is important to collect evidence quickly to prove your claim. This could include a lease stating that your landlord is responsible for a particular aspect of property management and copies of emails to the landlord notifying him or her about an issue that was never addressed. Other evidence may include photographs of the accident scene, witness statements from other apartment complex residents, and hospital records that document your relevant injuries.

Determine Fault in Your Case

As the injured party, the burden of proof is on you to show that your landlord was responsible for causing your injuries. Landlords and property owners have a general responsibility for not putting tenants into harm’s way and keeping the property safe from hazards and well-maintained. Tenants are responsible for things inside their own apartments but landlords are responsible for other areas, such as hallways, entryways, sidewalks, and staircases.

Work with a Local Lawyer You Can Trust

At the Law Office of Jeffrey K. Kestenbaum, we can assist you with accident investigation, proving your injuries are related to your accident, negotiating with insurance companies, and filing court documents to get you the compensation you deserve. If your case cannot be settled outside of court, we are also prepared to represent you at trial to pursue the at-fault party for your apartment accident case. Call us 24/7 at 718-237-5586 or contact us online to have our Brooklyn legal team take a look at your case.

If you rent an apartment, condo, or house, you likely have a landlord who is responsible for fixing things that break and addressing safety concerns before they cause accidents. Kitchen accidents are among the most common types of accidents that occur in a home, and they are sometimes due to the negligence of landlords who aren’t properly doing their jobs.

This article explores the nature of kitchen accidents in rental homes and what you can do if you are injured in your kitchen.

Types of Kitchen Accidents

There are many things that can go wrong in a kitchen because of the various types of appliances, electrical wiring components, and heavy pieces of machinery. Fires in a kitchen can be caused because a renter isn’t paying attention, but they can also be caused by broken ovens or stovetops. Kitchen accidents involving fire can also be caused by faulty wires and hoses, toxic fumes due to gas leaks, and uneven tiles that cause a person to fall.

Meanwhile, it is possible for an improperly installed large appliance to fall onto an inhabitant and cause injuries. Because of a leaky sink, dishwasher, or ice maker, a person could slip and fall on a wet kitchen floor and be injured. Skin burns, cuts from knives, and spilling boiling water are also common kitchen accidents that occur in New York.

Can You Sue Your Landlord for Kitchen Accidents?

Depending on the nature of your kitchen accident, yes, you may be able to sue your landlord for a kitchen accident. This is because landlords have a responsibility to maintain a habitable building and comply with New York’s implied warranty of habitability. This involves providing functioning hot water and electricity and making sure that rental properties are free of gas leaks, toxic fumes, and cracking walls and tiles.

For these types of cases, it is important to determine who the negligent parties are and work with an experienced attorney who knows the local laws and can apply them to your advantage in your case. A negligence claim against a landlord requires you to have substantial evidence to support your claim in court, such as photos of the hazardous condition and testimonies from neighbors who have experienced similar conditions. However, you cannot receive compensation for damages from your landlord if you solely caused the hazardous condition in your apartment or rental house.

When to Consult a Kitchen Accident Attorney

It is your right as a New York City renter to have a safe and clean rental property to live in, and if your landlord breeched his or her duty to provide this, you can file a kitchen accident landlord negligence claim. The Law Office of Jeffrey K. Kestenbaum can help you with this and go over all the details of your case to determine the best course of action to proceed with a claim.

To learn more and to tell us about your kitchen accident, please contact us online or by phone at 718-237-5586.

Slip and fall accidents can take place essentially anywhere, such as a public sidewalk, a retail store, or someone else’s house. If you have an accident while visiting a friend, relative, or neighbor, one of the first questions to ask is if the person has homeowner’s insurance. Most homeowners do carry this type of insurance, especially if they have a mortgage.

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Due to the spread of COVID-19 and social distancing guidelines, many New Yorkers are finding themselves working at home for the very first time. Not only can working at home pose technological and logistical challenges, but it can also lead to compromised safety and more accidents around the home.

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As part of our ongoing conversation about slip and fall cases in New York, today we are looking at what proving fault in slip and fall accidents requires according to the law. To pursue a successful case, it is not simply enough to demonstrate that you fell on another person’s property. You also must prove that your fall was someone else’s fault and not solely due to your own carelessness.

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Slip and fall cases may seem simple enough on the surface, but these are often complex matters that are difficult to pursue and prove without the help of an experienced slip and fall lawyer. These types of cases become even more challenging when comparative negligence plays a part in the accident.

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