Trusted slip and fall attorneys with over 75 years of experience serving injured victims across New York.
If you fell on someone else’s property in Hempstead, NY, then you are likely dealing with serious injuries and concerns about your finances. Our Hempstead, NY slip and fall lawyer has been representing injured New Yorkers for over 75 years. At Isaacson, Schiowitz & Korson, LLP, we understand how property owners defend these claims, how insurers try to minimize them, and what it actually takes to recover full compensation. Reach out today for a free consultation.
Slip and Fall Lawyer Hempstead, NY
A slip and fall claim is a premises liability case. Property owners in New York have a legal obligation to keep their premises reasonably safe. When they don’t and someone gets hurt because of it, the law provides a path to compensation.
However, you have to show the property owner knew about the dangerous condition, or should have known about it through ordinary care, and failed to act. This involves evidence, timing, and often a fight over what the owner did or didn’t do to maintain the property. Insurers look for ways to shift blame onto the person who got hurt. Having an attorney who has handled these cases before matters more than most people realize before they try to navigate it alone.
Types of Slip and Fall Cases We Handle in Hempstead
Premises liability cases come in a lot of different forms. The location, the type of hazard, and who owns the property all shape what the case looks like and how it gets defended. We represent injured clients across Hempstead and Nassau County in a range of slip and fall matters.
- Sidewalk and parking lot falls. Cracked pavement, uneven concrete slabs, and neglected sidewalks or parking lots cause serious falls year-round. Figuring out who’s responsible, whether a municipality, a business, or a private property owner, is often the first real challenge in these cases.
- Snow and ice accidents. Property owners still have to take care of a property in the winter time. New York law requires them to address icy conditions within a reasonable time after a storm ends. When they don’t, the results can be severe.
- Store and supermarket falls. Wet floors without warning signs, spilled merchandise left unattended, and poor lighting in aisles. Retail environments create predictable hazards, and businesses have a duty to find and fix them.
- Parking garage falls. Bad drainage, oil slicks, uneven surfaces, and inadequate lighting make garages dangerous. These cases frequently involve both the building owner and a management company.
- Apartment and residential building falls. Landlords bear responsibility for common areas, stairwells, entryways, and hallways. When those spaces aren’t maintained, tenants and visitors pay the price.
- Restaurant and bar falls. A wet floor near the bar, mat that’s bunched up near the entrance, or uneven flooring that nobody bothered to fix are all common hazards often documented in prior complaints and entirely avoidable.
Why Choose Isaacson, Schiowitz & Korson, LLP for Slip and Fall in Hempstead, NY?
Decades of Experience With Premises Liability Cases
Seventy-five years is a long time to be representing injured New Yorkers. This number reflects cases tried, appeals won, and hard-fought settlements secured across New York City and Long Island, including right here in Nassau County.
Martin Schiowitz, who co-founded the firm in 1978 and has served as its Managing Partner, has spent over 50 years handling personal injury, premises liability, and wrongful death cases at the highest level. He’s been recognized as a peer-selected Super Lawyer, placing him in the top 5% of attorneys in his field, and has been a longstanding member of the New York State Trial Lawyers Association and the New York State Academy of Trial Lawyers.
When you’re looking for a personal injury lawyer in Hempstead, NY, he understands personal injury law and how to take cases through the system.
Results That Matter
Our attorneys have recovered millions of dollars for clients in premises liability cases, including multiple six and seven-figure outcomes. We handle every case on contingency, so there are no upfront costs and no legal fees unless we recover compensation for you.
Understanding Slip and Fall Cases
Damages, Liability, and Compensation for Slip and Fall Cases
If you have a valid premises liability claim in New York, what you can actually recover depends on your injuries, losses, and the facts of your case. But broadly, there are two categories, including economic and non-economic damages. Examples of damages you may receive compensation for include the following:
- Medical bills, including current and future expenses
- Future lost earning capacity
- Out-of-pocket costs
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Changes to your daily life and activities
New York uses a pure comparative negligence standard, which means even if you’re found partly at fault for the fall, you can still recover. Your compensation is reduced by your percentage of fault, but it isn’t eliminated entirely.
Important Aspects in Your Slip and Fall Case
No two slip and fall cases are identical, but certain factors come up in almost every situation and shape everything from how the case is built, to what it ultimately resolves for. These factors tend to be decisive when building your case:
- How visible the hazard was, and whether any warning was posted
- How long the condition existed before someone got hurt
- Whether the property owner had any inspection or maintenance protocol in place
- The nature of the injuries and what treatment has been or will be required
- Whether security footage, incident reports, or prior complaints exist and can still be obtained
Slip and Fall Case Timeline
There’s no universal timeline for these cases, because some resolve in months and others take years. What tends to stay consistent is the sequence of steps.
- Investigation. Photos, witness statements, surveillance footage, and any incident documentation get gathered as early as possible.
- Medical evaluation and ongoing treatment. The full extent of your injuries needs to be established. Settling before you understand the long-term picture can be a mistake when you are owed more.
- Demand and negotiation. A demand is submitted to the property owner’s insurer. Often there are rounds of negotiation before any number is reached.
- Litigation. If the case doesn’t settle, a lawsuit gets filed. Discovery follows, with depositions, expert witnesses, and document exchanges. This phase typically runs 12 to 18 months or longer.
- Resolution. Most cases settle before trial, but we prepare every file as though it’s going to court and a verdict.
What to Bring to Your Slip and Fall Consultation
Bring whatever you have to your consultation. Most people don’t have everything, but we can gather what we may need at a later time. If you have it, take these with you to your appointment:
- Photographs of the scene, the hazard itself, and your injuries
- Any incident or accident report filed at the time of the fall
- Medical records, bills, or discharge paperwork from treatment
- Contact information for anyone who witnessed the fall
- Records of missed work or documentation of lost income
New York Legal Resources for Slip and Fall Cases
Understanding the legal framework for your case starts with knowing where to find the laws that apply. Below are resources for slip and fall and premises liability claims in Hempstead and across Nassau County.
- NY CPLR § 214: Personal injury claims in New York, including slip and fall cases, generally must be filed within three years of the injury.
- NY CPLR § 1411: New York applies a pure comparative fault standard. Being partially responsible for a fall doesn’t end a case. It reduces the recovery by whatever percentage of fault is attributed to the injured person.
- NY General Municipal Law § 50-e: When a slip and fall happens on government-owned property, like a public sidewalk, a city building, an MTA station, a formal Notice of Claim must be filed within 90 days of the incident before any lawsuit can proceed.
Reach Out to Isaacson, Schiowitz & Korson, LLP to Schedule a Consultation
At Isaacson, Schiowitz & Korson, LLP, we can review what happened during the slip and fall, answer your questions, and help you understand what your case is worth. The consultation is free, and there is no risk or obligation to continue. To learn more about your compensation eligibility and what damages you are owed payment for, reach out to us to reserve your appointment. If you were hurt on someone else’s property in Hempstead or anywhere in Nassau County, contact our team today.
