New York Slip And Fall Legal Questions

Sorry to hear what happened to your case. I've never heard of having a client sign a waiver of conflict in the context of an appeal. You should certainly ask the lawyer to the identify and explain the conflict they are asking you to waive. Also make sure that they are not asking you to release them from any negligence / malpractice on their part which have contributed to the dismissal of your case. Unfortunately, given the posture of your case, you will not likely find an attorney willing to pursue your appeal on a contingency fee basis. Unless you are willing to pay an appellate attorney out-of-pocket, your only option might be sticking with your current lawyer. Best regards, Jonathan R. Ratchik, Esq. Kramer, Dunleavy & Ratchik, PLLC www.kdrpilawyers.com... Read More

Sorry to hear what happened to your daughter. Unfortunately, slipping and falling is arguably an inherent risk of dancing (even with shoes). Absent any evidence that the organizer of the dance class did anything to increase that risk, or evidence that there was something on the floor which caused her to slip, a lawsuit would not likely be successful. Best regards, Jonathan R. Ratchik, Esq. Kramer, Dunleavy & Ratchik, PLLC www.kdrpilawyers.com... Read More

Ms. Austin, sorry to hear what happened to you.  The short answer is yes, you could sue the grocery store if its employee accidentally / negligently struck you in the face with a door.  If you haven't already, you should seek appropriate medical treatment to determine whether your nose is broken and take photogarphs of the bleeding / bruising.  That said, if your nose is not broken, the time and expense of a lawsuit would likely not be justified.  If you need to find an attorney, you can find many excellent attorneys using legal directories such as Super Lawyers, FindLaw, Martindale and Justia. Best regards, Jonathan R. Ratchik, Esq. Kramer, Dunleavy & Ratchik, PLLC... Read More

Under the rules of discovery in New York, defense counsel is entitled to obtain copies of your medical records directly from your health care providers.  A health care provider can only release your medical records, however, with a duly-executed, HIPAA-compliant authorization.  Hence the releases your attorney is having you sign the release.  It's par for the course in personal injury litigation. Best regards, Jonathan R. Ratchik, Esq. Kramer, Dunleavy & Ratchik, PLLC... Read More

Sorry to hear what happened to you.  If you fell at a resort in Jamaica, you need to speak with an attorney who is licensed to practice law in Jamaica, not the United States.  Try running a Google search and see what you come up with.  Keep in mind that in a slip and fall cases, you'll likely need to demonstrate that the resort either knew about the condition that caused you to slip or, in the exercise of reasonable care, should have known about the condition, and failed to clean it up. Best regards, Jonathan R. Ratchik, Esq. Kramer, Dunleavy & Ratchik, PLLC... Read More

Sorry to hear what happened to you.  Generally speaking, you cannot sue your employer for negligence.  Unless you suffered a "grave injury" within the meaning of the law, workers' compensation is your sole and exclusive remedy.  Moreover, the statute of limitations on any such lawsuit (one year and 90 days from the date of occurrence) expired a long time ago. Best regards, Jonathan R. Ratchik, Esq. Kramer, Dunleavy & Ratchik, PLLC ... Read More

Sorry to hear what happend to you.  Here's a link to the Notice of Claim form for the MTA / New York City Transit Authority, https://new.mta.info/document/29871  Keep in mind that a Notice of Claim must be filed within ninety (90) days of the date of incident or you will not be able to file a lawsuit (which must be filed within one year and ninety days of the date of incident).  In any slip and fall case, you must demonstrate that the NYCTA either created the condition on which you slipped, knew about the condition (actual notice), or that the condition existed for a sufficient length of time before your fall such that the NYCTA should have discovered it and corrected it / cleaned it up (constructive notice). Best regards, Jonathan R. Ratchik, Esq. Kramer, Dunleavy & Ratchik, PLLC 61 Broadway, Suite 2220 New York, NY  10006 (212) 226-6662 www.kdrpilawyers.com  ... Read More

Sorry to hear what happened to you.  As owner and operator of the NYC subway system, the MTA / NYCTA has a legal responsibility to maintain the platform in a reasonably safe condition.  It is responsible for any dangerous conditions on the platform about which it had notice, either actual notice (it knew about the condition) or constructive notice (the dangerous condition was visible and apparent and existed for a long enough period before your fall to have permitted the MTA / NYCTA to discovery it).  Unless you can demonstrate that the MTA / NYCTA either knew or should have known about the dangerous condition, they will not be legally responsible for your fall and resulting injuries.  In other words, if the condition that caused you to fall existed for only a few minutes (or even seconds) before your fall, the MTA / NYCTA would not have had sufficient time in which to discover it and correct it.   Keep in mind that before you can bring a lawsuit against the MTA / NYCTA, you must first file a Notice of Claim within 90 days of the incident, .  If you do not file a Notice of Claim during such time period, you will be unable to bring a lawsuit later on. Best regards, Jonathan R. Ratchik, Esq. Kramer, Dunleavy & Ratchik, PLLC 61 Broadway, Suite 2220 New York, NY  10006 (212) 226-6662 www.kdrpilawyers.com... Read More

Sorry to hear what happened to you.  As owner and operator of the NYC subway system, the MTA / NYCTA has a legal responsibility to maintain the platform in a reasonably safe condition.  It is responsible for any dangerous conditions on the platform about which it had notice, either actual notice (it knew about the condition) or constructive notice (the dangerous condition was visible and apparent and existed for a long enough period before your fall to have permitted the MTA / NYCTA to discovery it).  Unless you can demonstrate that the MTA / NYCTA either knew or should have known about the dangerous condition, they will not be legally responsible for your fall and resulting injuries.  In other words, if the condition that caused you to fall existed for only a few minutes (or even seconds) before your fall, the MTA / NYCTA would not have had sufficient time in which to discover it and correct it.   Keep in mind that before you can bring a lawsuit against the MTA / NYCTA, you must first file a Notice of Claim within 90 days of the incident, .  If you do not file a Notice of Claim during such time period, you will be unable to bring a lawsuit later on. Best regards, Jonathan R. Ratchik, Esq. Kramer, Dunleavy & Ratchik, PLLC 61 Broadway, Suite 2220 New York, NY  10006 (212) 226-6662 www.kdrpilawyers.com... Read More

Mr. Smith, sorry to hear what you went through.  Unfortunately, the statute of limitations for personal injury cases in New York is only three (3) years which means you may be out of time in which to file a lawsuit.  You are, of course, free to speak with a personal injury attorney.  You can find one using the Find a Lawyer tab on the Lawyers.com homepage.  Keep in mind that you might have difficult medically connecting inhalation of toxic dust with a traumatic brain injury or the other medical conditions which you are alleging. Best regards, Jonathan R. Ratchik, Esq. Kramer, Dunleavy & Ratchik, PLLC 61 Broadway, Suite 2220 New York, NY  10006 (212) 226-6662 www.kdrpilawyers.com... Read More

Mr. Myers, so sorry to hear what happened to your mother. Whether your mother has a case will depend on whether the gas station had notice of the urine on which she slipped, i.e. that it either knew about it or, in the exercise of reasoanble care, should known about it and failed to clean it up.  Unfortunately, unless your mother suffered a serious, permanent injury, the indignity of sitting in a puddle of urine for 30-40 minutes might not justify the time and expense of a lawsuit.  You'd be better off reporting the incident to the gas station's owner and/or Sunoco corporate and see if they might be willing to compensate your mother for what she went through. Best regards, Jonathan R. Ratchik, Esq. Kramer, Dunleavy & Ratchik, PLLC 61 Broadway, Suite 2220 New York, NY  10006 (212) 226-6662 www.kdrpilawyers.com... Read More

Sorry to hear about what happened to your husband.  As operator of the hotel, Marriott was under a duty to maintain the premises in a reasonably safe condition and to repair any dangerous conditions thereon of which it had notice, in your case the dishwasher from the adjacent room.  That said, Marriott is under no obligation to pay you for your husband's pain and suffering and economic loss.  It is only obligated to pay a judgment entered against it.  And the only way to obtain a judgment against Marriott is by filing an actual lawsuit.  Unfortunately, even though Marriott is a domestic corporation, any such lawsuit would likely need to be filed in Aruba.   Best regards,   Jonathan R. Ratchik, Esq. Kramer, Dunleavy & Ratchik, PLLC 61 Broadway, Suite 2220 New York, NY  10006 (212) 226-6662 http://kdrpilawyers.com/  ... Read More

Sorry to hear about your fall.  A property owner has a duty to maintain its premises in a reasonably safe condition and is only responsible for injuries caused by dangerous conditions it either created, knew about or, in the exercise of reasoanble care, should have known about.  If your fall occurred outside because the ground was wet from the weather, you would not have a case.  If your fall took place inside the store, you might have the case if Walmart either knew about the wet floor condition or should have known about it and failed to clean it up (such as if the floor was wet for an appreciable length of time.  And a case would only make sense in the event that you suffered an actual physical injury. Hope this helps. Best regards, Jonathan R. Ratchik, Esq. Kramer, Dunleavy & Ratchik, PLLC 61 Broadway, Suite 2220 New York, NY  10006 (212) 226-6662 http://kdrpilawyers.com/   ... Read More

A property owner has a non-delegable duty to maintain his property in a reasonably safe condition and is responsible for injuries caused by dangerous conditions thereon about which it either knew or should have known.  If your neighbor brings a lawsuit against you, your friend (the homeowner) would arguably be liable as she owns the property.  Find out if your friend (the  landlord) has homeowner's insurance.  If you get sued you should report it to theat insurance carrier immediately.  Likewise, if you have renter's insurance, report any any summons or claim letter you receive.   Best regards,    Jonathan R. Ratchik, Esq. Kramer, Dunleavy & Ratchik, PLLC 61 Broadway, Suite 2220 New York, NY  10006 (212) 226-6662 http://kdrpilawyers.com/   ... Read More

Sorry to hear about the difficulty you're having with your attorney.  You should schedule an in-person meeting with the attorney to discuss the status of your case.  Don't take no for an answer and ask to see proof as to what's going on with your case, including proof that a lawsuit was even filed on your behalf  If you're not satisfied with your attorney's answers then you might want to consider hiring a new attorney.  You can find one in the Lawyers.com search box. Hope this helps. Best regards, Jonathan R. Ratchik, Esq. Kramer, Dunleavy & Ratchik, PLLC 61 Broadway, Suite 2220 New York, NY  10006 (212) 226-6662 www.kdrpilawyers.com... Read More

You should have an in-person meeting with your attorney to find out why his valuation of your wife's case has changed so dramatically in such a short period of time.  If you're not satisfied with his answer, you can search for a new lawyer using ther Lawyers.com "Find A Lawyer" search tool. Hope this helps. Jonathan R. Ratchik, Esq. Kramer, Dunleavy & Ratchik, PLLC 61 Broadway, Suite 2220 New York, NY  10006 (212) 226-6662 www.kdrpilawyers.com... Read More

Your question is a bit confusing.  If you filed a Notice of Claim in March 2018, your time in which to file a lawsuit against the municipality expired in or about June 2019.  Your statute of limitations was not tolled / paused pending determination of your poor person application.  If you brought a timely lawsuit, you had 120 days in which to serve them (no later than October 2019).  Lastly, if you filed a lawsuit against the wrong entity altogether, your time in which to file a Notice of Claim / lawsuit will have long since expired and you would need permission from the Court in order to file a late Notice of Claim or lawsuit, a question that is far too complicaterd to answer in this context.  Your best bet would be to speak with an experienced attorney. Hope this helps. Jonathan R. Ratchik, Esq. Kramer, Dunleavy & Ratchik, PLLC 61 Broadway, Suite 2220 New York, NY  10006 (212) 226-6662 www.kdrpilawyers.com... Read More

So sorry to hear about your fall.  Generally speaking, a property owner has a legal duty to maintain its property in a reasonably safe conditionand to keep them free and clear of snow and ice.  Whether the church woudl be legally responsible for your fall depends on whether it either knew or should have known about the ice in the parking lot before your fall.  Whether it should have done about the ice will depend on how long the ice was present and whether the church had a reasonable opportunity to discover it and remove it.  Whether the snow removal company is also responsible depends on the terms of its contract with the church and other factors. If this is something you wish to pursue you should find an experienced personal injury attorney in your vicinity.  You can find one through Lawyers.com and/or by clicking on the "Find a Lawyer" link. Hope this helps. Best regards, Jonathan R. Ratchik, Esq. Kramer, Dunleavy & Ratchik, PLLC 61 Broadway, Suite 2220 New York, NY  10006... Read More

Property owners have a legal duty to maintain their property in a reasonably safe condition and free from snow and ice.  That said, an owner is only responsible for injuries caused by a dangerous accumulation of ice if it had actual or constructive notice of the condition and failed to remedy the condition.  In the end, it really depends on how long the ice was present before your fall and whether the owner had an opportunity to discover the condition and remedy it.  You should consider speaking with an experienced personal injury attorney in your area to determine wheher you have a case.  You can find one in the Lawyers.com search bar. Best, Jonathan R. Ratchik, Esq. Kramer, Dunleavy & Ratchik, PLLC 61 Broadway, Suite 2220 New York, NY  10006 (212) 226-6662 www.kdrpilawyers.com... Read More

It depends.  If they got hurt due to a dangerous condition on the property which you either created, knew about or, in the exercise of reasonable care, should have known about and repaired, then yes, you could be found responsible.  Keep in mind that if you have homeowner's or renter's insurance they would arguably defend you in any such lawsuit.   Best regards,   Jonathan R. Ratchik, Esq. Kramer, Dunleavy & Ratchik, PLLC 61 Broadway, Suite 2220 New York, NY  10006 (212) 226-6662... Read More

Depends.  Although municipalities are required to maintain their roadways in a reasonably safe condition, most of them have enacted prior written notice laws which requires them to have received written notice of a dangerous condition before they can be held responsible for any injuries caused by it.  That there was orange spray paint around the hole suggests that the municipality received notification of the condition and was preparing to repair it.  Given the strict time constraints in bringing a lawsuit against a municipality (oftentimes 90 days in which to file a notice of claim), you should contact an experienced personal injury attorney immediately if this is something you intend to pursue.  You can find one in the Lawyers.com search bar.  You should also take photographs of the pothole before it gets repaired or filled.... Read More

That the fall occurred after your company moved out of the store does not necessarily mean that you are not responsible.  The plaintiff might be claiming you created the condition that caused the fall.  Or the landlord might claim that as the tenant, you were responsible for maintaining the sidewalk in good repair.  If you are being sued it would make sense to hire an attorney to represent you and protect your interests.  Moreover, if your company is incorporated, you are required by law to have an attorney.  You should be able to find one in the lawers.com search bar.... Read More