Understanding New York’s Slip and Fall Laws

The laws you need to know, whether you’re a property owner or visiting someone else’s property

New York native Paul Simon famously sang, “Slip sliding away, you know the nearer your destination, the more you’re slip sliding away.” 

While Simon wasn't crooning about slip-and-fall accidents, it’s hard for us attorneys at Enjuris not to imagine him narrating the challenges of navigating New York’s icy sidewalks and wet floors. 

Slip and fall claims arise when someone suffers an injury due to slipping, tripping, or falling on another person's property. In this article, we’ll explore the nuances of slip-and-fall accidents in New York, offering insights into what victims need to know to navigate their path to recovery and compensation.

Common slip-and-fall accidents

Slips and falls account for more than one million emergency room visits annually, according to the National Floor Safety Institutes. 

A slip and fall can occur for any number of reasons, but there are some common factors that tend to precipitate slip-and-fall accidents:

Regardless of how a slip-and-fall accident occurs, it can result in serious injuries. Some of the most common injuries associated with slips and falls include:

Proving liability in a New York slip and fall lawsuit

Slipping and falling is a common occurrence, as anyone with toddlers can attest. While it would be nice to recover damages every time you take a tumble, that's not how the American justice system works.

Slip and fall claims are negligence claims, which means that in order to establish liability for a slip and fall injury, you need to prove four elements:

1. Duty: You must prove that the defendant owed you a duty of care.
2. Breach: You must prove that the defendant breached their duty of care.
3. Causation: You must prove that the defendant’s breach was the direct cause of your injury.
4. Damages: You must prove that you actually suffered an injury.

Litigation typically focuses on the duty the defendant owed and whether the defendant breached that duty. 

So, how do you determine what duty is owed and whether the defendant breached it?

In New York, property owners must take certain measures to ensure their property is safe for visitors. The measures an owner must take (i.e., the duty they owe) depend on the visitor’s classification. Visitors are divided into three categories:

Classification	Definition	Duty owed	Example
Invitee	An invitee is an individual who is "invited" onto property and enters for the benefit of both themselves and the property owner, such as a customer in a store.	An owner owes an invitee the highest degree of care, which includes the duty to locate and fix (or provide a warning about) any dangerous conditions.	A store owner must regularly inspect the aisles for spills or obstacles and promptly clean up any hazards or place visible warning signs to prevent customers from slipping and falling.
Licensee	A licensee is an individual who enters a property for their own purposes but with the owner’s permission, such as a social guest.	An owner owes a licensee a duty of ordinary care to warn or fix dangerous conditions that the owner has knowledge of or should have knowledge of.	A homeowner must ensure that any known hazards, like a loose stair railing, are fixed or clearly communicated to a social guest to prevent injury during their visit.
Trespasser	A trespasser is an individual who enters a property without any right and without the property owner’s permission.	An owner only owes a trespasser a duty to refrain from willfully injuring the trespasser.	A property owner must avoid setting dangerous traps or intentionally creating hazards that could harm someone who enters the property without permission, such as a child retrieving a lost ball.

There is no statewide definition of “dangerous condition.” However, the following are some examples:

• Electrical cable not taped or secured to the floor (Stevenson v. Saratoga Performing Arts Ctr., 115 A.D.3d 1086 [3rd Dep’t 2014]).
• Puddle of liquid detergent on a supermarket floor (Navedo v. 250 Willis Ave. Supermarket, 290 A.D.2d 246 [1st Dep’t 2002]).
• Accumulated debris or garbage in a stairwell (Bido v. 876-882 Realty, LLC, 41 A.D.3d 311 [1st Dep’t 2007]).
• Wet napkins on the floor (Mullin v. 100 Church LLC, 12 A.D.3d 263 [1st Dep’t 2004]).
• Patch of ice on a sidewalk (Rosenblatt v. City of New York, 160 A.D.2d 927 [2d Dep’t 1990]).
• Box containing merchandise placed on the floor at the end of an aisle (Carpenter v. 130 W. Merrick, Inc., 71 A.D.3d 715 [2d Dep’t 2010]).

Common defenses to slip and fall lawsuits in New York

In practical terms, when you sue a property owner for a slip and fall, the property owner’s insurance company is likely to step in and defend the case. The three most common defenses you’re likely to hear in a New York slip and fall case are:

1. Open and obvious: Defendants may argue they’re not at fault because the dangerous condition was “open and obvious.” In other words, the plaintiff should have seen the dangerous condition and avoided it. However, an open and obvious condition does not automatically absolve the property owner of liability. The court will consider the openness and obviousness of the dangerous condition as a factor in determining liability.
2. Comparative fault: New York follows the pure comparative fault rule, which means a plaintiff’s damages are reduced by their percentage of fault. A common example of this is a plaintiff who is partially at fault for a slip-and-fall accident because they were running through a store when they slipped on something.
3. Trespassing: In New York, property owners have a limited duty of care to trespassers. This means that if the plaintiff was not lawfully on the property, the owner's liability may be significantly reduced. An exception to this rule is when harm comes to children due to an attractive nuisance.

It’s also important to keep in mind that in cases involving snowfall or a foreign object on a store’s floor (such as a spilled drink), the owner isn’t liable unless there is evidence that the snow or object was on the ground long enough for the owner to become aware of its presence and have a reasonable opportunity to clean it up.

Damages available in slip and fall cases

There are three types of damages available in New York slip-and-fall cases:

• Economic damages: Economic damages (also called “special damages”) are intended to compensate a plaintiff for the monetary losses caused by their accident. These damages are objectively verifiable, meaning they can be proven by showing something like a medical bill or an estimate from an auto mechanic.
• Noneconomic damages: Non-economic damages (sometimes called “general damages”) are intended to compensate you for the non-monetary consequences of your accidents.
• Punitive damages: Punitive damages (sometimes called “exemplary damages” are distinguishable from compensatory damages. Whereas compensatory damages attempt to compensate the plaintiff for their losses, punitive damages are intended to punish the defendant for their wrongdoing and deter similar misconduct in the future.

What is the statute of limitations for slip and fall cases in New York?

Under the New York statute of limitations, you have three years from the date your injury occurred to file a slip and fall lawsuit.

While the three-year statute of limitations is a general rule, several exceptions could alter this timeline, by extending it or imposing specific conditions. These exceptions include:

• Claims involving children under the age of 18 or individuals with a mental disability: If the injured person is a minor, the clock will not start ticking until the individual turns 18. A similar law applies to individuals who are declared “insane.” For these individuals, the statute of limitations does not start until they are no longer considered “insane.”
• When a person leaves the state: If the person responsible for the plaintiff’s injuries leaves the state of New York before the lawsuit can be filed, the period of nonresidence won’t usually be counted as part of the statute of limitations.
• When a person takes steps to conceal themselves: If the person responsible for the plaintiff’s injuries takes steps to conceal their liability from the plaintiff, the clock generally won’t start running until the period of concealment ends.