If you’ve been injured in a slip-and-fall accident on a piece of property, you may wonder who, if anyone, you can sue for your injuries. It can be difficult to determine who is responsible for the property where you were injured. Here are some common situations where you might have difficulty determining responsibility.
Rental Property
A rental property is a difficult situation. Although the property owner has some responsibility in maintaining the property, many of the maintenance concerns are given over to the tenant, and the actual responsibility depends on the nature of the cause of your injury and the agreement between the tenant and owner. Often, we may not be able to know who is responsible until after we bring both into court.
Common Areas in Condominium or Apartment Complex
Many apartment buildings and condominium complexes have common areas that are designed to be used by all people in the complex, such as lobbies, swimming pools, health clubs, and playgrounds. In general, maintenance of these common areas falls to the property owner, not the individual tenants.
Sidewalk
The sidewalk is an area of public/private property. Although it is open to use by all foot traffic by right of an easement, the property owner is still responsible for maintenance. Under most circumstances, a property owner is responsible for injuries that occur on the sidewalk that is still technically part of their property.
Public Property
If you are injured on property that belongs to the city, state, or federal government, the responsible party is usually the property owner, although sometimes there may be overlapping jurisdictions that may mean a different party is responsible. Often law limits the situations in which you can recover damages from a government entity, as well as the amount of damages you can recover.
If you have been hurt due to a slip and fall or other property-related accident in New Jersey, please contact Andres, Berger & Tran in Haddonfield, NJ today for a free initial consultation.
