Newark Slip and Fall Attorneys

A slip or trip can happen in an instant. The injuries from the fall can change your life forever.

If you are among the tens of thousands of people who sustain injuries in a fall each year in Newark and across NJ, you have seen firsthand how devastating these injuries can be. The pain, the physical limitations, and the financial consequences won’t go away on their own. But that doesn’t mean you’re helpless.

A Newark slip and fall lawyer can stand up for your legal rights and fight for every dollar you deserve, so you can overcome every financial barrier to getting better. It costs you nothing to find out your legal options and nothing upfront to move forward with a slip and fall case.

• What Should I Do If I Slipped and Fell on a Property in Newark, NJ? Don’t let the shock keep you from protecting your legal rights. Find out what steps you need to take after a slip and fall accident.
• Can I File a Slip and Fall Claim in Newark, NJ? If you suffered a fall in Essex County, you may have the option to sue for the harm you suffered. Here’s what you need to have a successful slip and fall claim in New Jersey.
• Do You Need a Newark Slip and Fall Accident Lawyer? Winning a slip and fall case isn’t easy, but our personal injury attorneys have an excellent record of getting maximum compensation for our clients. Find out what a Newark slip and fall attorney can do for you.

Ready to get help? Call (862) 229-1137 today for a free consultation with our Newark slip and fall law firm.

What to Do When You’ve Been Injured in a Slip and Fall in Newark, New Jersey

Slip and fall accidents are surprisingly complex legal matters. What you do – or don’t do – after a fall can affect the success of your personal injury claim.

This isn’t fair that a single mistake, made at a time when you’re in pain and shock, can slash your slip and fall compensation. But the property owner and their insurance company won’t hesitate to use a simple mistake against you if it means they have to pay out less money.

That’s why it’s crucial that you take the right steps at the right time following a slip and fall injury. Take these actions right away. If you missed any of these steps, immediately contact a Newark slip and fall attorney to help get your insurance claim on the right track before any further damage is done.

1. Report the Slip and Fall Accident.

If you’re on a business property, a property owned by an organization, or public or government property, immediately notify a worker that you fell. Ask them to complete an incident report, but don’t sign the document, and request a copy for your records.

If the slip and fall occurred at a private residence, alert the property owner. If you slipped and fell at an unattended public property, like a park where there was no worker on-site, you can report the fall-down accident to the police.

2. Document the Accident With Evidence.

Take photos of the condition that caused you to trip and note down the precise date, time, and location of the accident. If anyone witnessed your fall, ask them for their name, contact information, and a statement of what they saw.

3. Get Medical Care Right Away.

The injuries you sustain in a slip and fall accident can be life-changing and need to be addressed promptly.

If your injuries are serious, don’t be afraid to call an ambulance to take you to a nearby hospital. Otherwise, call your primary care doctor or go to an urgent care facility to get checked out as soon as possible.

4. Speak to Experienced Personal Injury Attorneys.

When slip and fall victims try to handle a claim on their own, they’re leaving money on the table. It’s always in your best interest to have an attorney protecting your rights and fighting to get you the full slip and fall settlement you deserve.

Don’t worry about contacting a lawyer too soon. It’s never too early to secure legal representation for a fall accident, and having this safety net in place from the start costs you nothing upfront.

5. Notify the Insurance Company – Or, Better Yet, Let Us Do This for You.

Your slip and fall claim can’t move forward until the defendant’s insurance company is aware of the accident. But every word you say directly to an insurance adjuster is a statement that could potentially be twisted and taken out of context to undermine your claim.

Instead of putting your case at risk, let us do the talking with the defendant’s insurer. It saves you the hassle and protects your legal matter — and it’s a service we provide as a courtesy to our clients at no extra cost.

About Slip and Fall Accidents in Newark, NJ

In Newark and across the Garden State, slip and fall accidents – along with trip and fall accidents, step and fall accidents, and stump and fall accidents – happen more commonly than you might think.

Slip and Fall Statistics

Falls killed 37,455 Americans in 2018 and left another 8,173,139 people in the United States with nonfatal injuries, the National Safety Council reported. That averages out to over 100 deaths per day from fall-down accidents and more than 15 injuries per minute.

Statistically, falls are the leading cause of preventable nonfatal injuries, making up 32 percent of these injuries, and the third leading cause of preventable injury-related death.

In NJ alone, falls accounted for 527 deaths in 2017, according to the New Jersey State Health Assessment Data. Slip and fall injuries are particularly devastating among older adults in New Jersey, accounting for 17,499 hospital admissions, 77,545 hospital visits, and a collective cost of $1,865,886,305 in 2017, the National Council on Aging reported.

Why Do So Many Slip and Fall Accidents Occur in Newark?

Common Sites for Slip and Fall Accidents in Newark, NJ

Anywhere a property owner fails to fulfill his or her duty of care to protect visitors could become the scene of serious injuries.

Slip and fall accidents in Newark can happen in:

• Parking lots
• Grocery stores
• Outlet malls
• Shopping centers
• Convenience stores
• Retail store chains
• Gas stations
• Banks
• Hospitals and doctors’ offices
• Public parks
• Sidewalks
• Schools
• Hotels
• Entertainment venues
• Apartment complexes
• Private residences

In Newark, some examples of places where slip and fall accidents occur include:

Grocery stores, such as:

• ShopRite on Springfield Avenue
• Whole Foods Market on Broad Street
• Seabra’s Market on Lafayette Street
• Extra Supermarket on Lyons Avenue
• Food Depot on 1st Street
• C-Town Supermarket on Clinton Avenue

Restaurants, like:

• Applebees on Springfield Avenue
• Dinosaur Bar-B-Q on Market Street
• Dunkin Donuts on Broad Street, Springfield Avenue, Elizabeth Avenue, Lyons Avenue, and more
• Wendy’s on Market Street, Springfield Avenue, Brewster Road, and more
• McDonald’s on Ferry Street, Broad Street, Frelinghuysen Avenue, McCarter Highway, and more
• Burger King on Broad Street, Heller Parkway, Clay Street, and more
• Sonic on Springfield Avenue

Where to Seek Medical Help for a Newark Slip and Fall Injury

Getting medical care as soon as possible is critical after a slip or trip and fall accident in Newark. Fortunately, the city of Newark is home to numerous hospitals, urgent care facilities, and medical offices.

Our Newark slip and fall lawyers regularly assist accident victims who sought treatment at the following hospitals:

• Newark Beth Israel Medical Center
• Saint Michael’s Medical Center
• University Hospital
• Children’s Hospital of New Jersey
• Columbus Hospital LTACH

Do I Have a Newark Slip and Fall Case?

When slip and falls lead to serious injuries, they can also bring about personal injury lawsuits. A personal injury case typically starts as an insurance claim but may later turn into litigation, or a lawsuit.

Every slip and fall matter is unique, involving:

• Different entities who are at fault
• Different actions that led to the accident
• Different injuries
• Different impacts on your life

To fully understand what your case may look like, you need to consult with experienced slip and fall accident lawyers in Newark, NJ (this shouldn’t cost you anything).

Here’s what you need to know about the basics of pursuing a claim.

Elements of a Newark Slip and Fall Case

The two primary elements that determine whether or not you have the grounds for a slip and fall lawsuit are:

1. Negligence – the lack of reasonable care and caution that causes or contributes to an accident
2. Damages – the harms and losses that result from the accident

Negligence and a Property Owner’s Duty of Care in Newark

Negligence means not acting with reasonable caution, or avoiding a “duty of care” that the person or organization owes to others. Generally, it is a property owner’s, manager’s, or business user’s legal responsibility to prevent slip and fall accidents to the best of their ability by maintaining the premises in safe condition.

Depending on the circumstances, this responsibility may include:

• Hiring employees to regularly inspect floors and perform cleaning and maintenance tasks
• Promptly cleaning up spilled liquids or debris
• Conducting frequent floor sweeps
• Maintaining a cleaning log
• Keeping walkways carefully maintained and free of potential hazards
• Ensuring lights are operational and bright enough for good visibility to prevent falls
• Maintaining stairways and railings in good condition and in accordance with building codes
• Blocking off potential hazards with signs or barricades
• Keeping walkways clear of potential tripping hazards
• Responding to inclement weather conditions that can lead to slippery surfaces, including safely removing snow and ice

When the Owner Owes You a Duty of Care

Of course, there are limits to the duty of care a property owner owes you. Generally, for a company or individual to be found negligent in maintaining the property and liable for your slip and fall injuries, you must be:

• An invitee, such as a shopper in a retail store, a patron eating at a restaurant, or a customer visiting a park or other attraction
• A licensee, such as a guest attending a party or visiting a friend’s home

In any of these instances, the property owner owes you a duty of care.

You typically do not have the grounds for a slip and fall case if you were a trespasser, or someone using the property illegally or without permission.

Who Is Liable for a Newark Slip and Fall Accident?

Liability for your Newark slip and fall accident may fall on any of the following parties:

• The owner of the private residential property where you fell
• The owner of an apartment complex
• The renter of an apartment
• The owner of a commercial property
• A business using, and responsible for maintaining in safe condition, a commercial property
• A property manager
• A government entity

Who Pays for a Slip and Fall Lawsuit?

Just because you name an individual, organization, or company in your lawsuit doesn’t mean that you are seeking compensation from them directly.

Instead, you’re typically pursuing benefits from a homeowners, renters, or business insurance policy.

Suing a Friend or Family Member for a Slip and Fall

The fact that insurance, not the individual or the company, is good news if your slip and fall occurred at a friend or family member’s home or at the site of a favorite small business.

It means that you can still get the money you deserve – the money you need to get better – without causing harm to the individual or the company.

You’re not taking money from your friend’s life’s savings. Your insurance claim won’t put your favorite mom-and-pop shop out of business. You’re simply using the benefits the property owner has already paid to have, for the purpose intended.

And, by using these benefits, you’re able to afford the care you need to get better – which your friend or family member wants you to do.

Types of Damages in a Newark Slip and Fall Case

Slip and fall victims and their families can seek many different types of damages in a legal claim, such as:

• Medical bills
• Future medical expenses
• Lost wages for time out of work due to disability
• Any decrease in future earning potential
• Pain and suffering
• Mental and emotional anguish
• Loss of quality of life
• Wrongful death damages, if your loved one lost their life due to a fall injury

Common Injuries in a Newark, NJ Slip and Fall Accident

Newark slip and fall injuries can have lifelong impacts. Common fall injuries include:

• Broken bones, especially in the arms and hands, the hips, and the legs
• Sprained wrists, arms, knees, or ankles
• Dislocated shoulders
• Back and neck injuries, such as herniated discs
• Damages to muscles or nerves on any injured part of the body
• Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs)
• Spinal cord injuries that can lead to paralysis

These injuries can be serious, even catastrophic, and they can affect your life in major ways.

Although improvement is often possible, the treatment you need for maximum rehabilitation is expensive – and that’s just the start of the many ways, financial and otherwise, a slip and fall can impact your life.

The Most Common Causes of Slip and Falls in Newark

How do slip and falls happen? Some of the various property defects and hazards that can lead to a slip and fall accident include:

• Wet or greasy floors: A wet floor is the classic cause of slip and falls, especially in retail stores and restaurants. The slick surfaces that develop when floors are covered in water, grease, or other liquids reduce the friction between your footwear and the floor, which is what causes you to slip.
• Spilled food debris or liquids: Food products are a common cause of slippery surfaces in restaurants and grocery stores. Beverages, condiments, fruits that become squished, and leaking bottles are particularly likely to turn into a slipping hazard on the floor, especially in self-serve areas like buffets.
• Oil spots or spills: Oil, often used specifically to lubricate surfaces or make food products moist, is more slippery than water. It can also be harder to clean up, which makes it an even bigger danger to unsuspecting visitors who encounter it.
• Leaky pipes: A pipe that leaks could result in slippery floors in places a visitor wouldn’t expect. Contrary to what the defendant might say, a “wet floor” sign placed nowhere near the location where a fall occurred doesn’t give a property owner blanket immunity from liability.
• Icy parking lots: Although visitors to a property should expect the possibility of icy conditions in inclement weather, the slipping hazards related to ice buildup aren’t always obvious. A condition of the property or action of the property owner could have made an icy situation more dangerous or allowed surfaces to remain icy for longer than is reasonable, so that the slippery condition takes the visitor by surprise.
• Uneven sidewalks or curbs: When a curb or sidewalk cracks beneath your feet or has a chunk missing that you didn’t see—often due to poor lighting—it can cause you to trip and get hurt. Figuring out who is responsible for an injury due to an uneven curb or sidewalk, especially one in a parking lot, can be challenging.
• Clutter or obstacles in aisles: When unexpected obstacles appear in the walkways and aisles customers use to navigate a store or other commercial property, they can pose a serious tripping hazard—especially when products and merchandise displays are designed to draw your attention away from the floor.
• Exposed extension cords: Like debris and clutter, exposed extension cords can present a tripping hazard, especially if they stretch across walkways or in other places where a visitor to a property is likely to encounter them unexpectedly.
• Loose or torn carpets: A rug that rolls up under your feet or slides when you step on it could cause you to trip. Even fraying or stray strands of fabric from a ripped carpet could tangle up a customer’s feet and cause a slip or trip.

Any of these hazards could potentially constitute negligence, making you eligible to sue for a slip and fall injury.

How to File a Slip and Fall Lawsuit in Newark, New Jersey

1. Collect information about your case to bring to a premises liability attorney. Keep important documents such as accident reports, photographs, and medical records.
2. Contact an attorney to discuss a potential claim.
3. During your free consultation, ask any questions you may have about your specific claim and the process in general.
4. Our New Jersey slip and fall attorneys will take over the responsibility of filing your claim with the property owner’s insurance company. We’ll handle everything, so you don’t have to.

Settling Your Slip and Fall Lawsuit

In most situations, our Newark slip and fall attorneys will try to work out a settlement during pretrial negotiations. Settlements are faster than premises liability trials, and because they are less expensive, you get to keep more of your money. A settlement may be reached before filing a lawsuit or after commencing litigation.

If the insurance company refuses to offer a reasonable settlement, your lawyer can take your case to court.

Do You Need a Newark Slip and Fall Accident Lawyer?

But If you think getting the money you deserve for a slip and fall injury is going to be easy, you could be in for an unpleasant surprise.

In reality, slip and fall accidents are notoriously difficult cases to win.

• The defendant may try to blame you for the accident.
• The insurance company may demand more “proof” of your injuries – which can be particularly problematic in the case of soft-tissue injuries, which may not appear on X-rays but can still be debilitating.
• Insurance companies are notorious for seeking out ways to deny or decrease claims – even if that means injured victims, like you, pay the price.

Hiring an experienced Newark personal injury lawyer can give you peace of mind during the premises liability claims process. While your lawyer handles complicated legal matters on your behalf, you can focus on recovering from your slip and fall injuries.

Even better, research shows that lawyers get their clients 3.5 times more money than claimants without legal representation get for themselves. And, with no-win, no-fee representation and a free consultation, you can get professional representation at no upfront cost.

Should you hire an attorney? Only if you want to get the most money for your claim and avoid the hassle of fighting a legal battle on your own.

How a Newark Slip and Fall Lawyer Can Help

• Investigate your accident and collect and preserve evidence of the defendant’s negligence
• Document the full extent of your economic and non-economic damages
• Negotiate the settlement you deserve
• File all legal documents and represent you in any legal proceedings
• Fight for you in court, if necessary

When you become our client, we become your advocates, dedicated to helping you get your life back on track. If you have questions about anything related to your accident – from the legal matter to your access to medical care – we’re here to help.

Why Choose the Newark Slip and Fall Lawyers at Console & Associates

• After practicing personal injury law in New Jersey for over 25 years, we know how to handle slip and fall accident claims to secure maximum compensation.
• We don’t just have experience handling claims like yours; we have an excellent track record of getting the results our clients deserve. See our six-figure slip and fall settlements for yourself.
• We’re not afraid to take property owners, corporations, and insurance companies to court in Newark if that is what your case needs to succeed.
• We will provide personalized legal services and custom strategies to obtain the results you deserve.
• Our Newark office location, located at the Gateway Center complex on Broad Street, makes it easy to get experienced legal representation from anywhere in Newark or Essex County. In fact, we handle cases all over New Jersey. 
• We take slip and fall accident cases in Newark on a contingency fee basis, with $0 upfront to retain our legal services. You only pay when and if we get money for you, and only a fraction of your settlement.

Get a Free Consultation With Our Newark, NJ Slip and Fall Accident Attorneys

Hiring an attorney from the beginning of your slip and fall claim can improve your chances of success. Your lawyer can work to build a strong and valid claim to damages, then go up against the defendant’s insurance company on your behalf.

Start your case in Newark, New Jersey with a free consultation with an attorney at Console & Associates.

Contact us online or call (862) 229-1137 today. We make it easy to get the no-win, no-fee legal help you need for a slip and fall, with a secure remote signup option as well as a local office conveniently located at 494 Broad Street #208B, Newark, NJ 07102.

Newark Slip and Fall Accident FAQs

1. How Long Do I Have to File a Slip and Fall Claim?

In New Jersey, you generally have two years from the date of your slip and fall accident to file a lawsuit. However, there are exceptions. Under a New Jersey regulation known as Title 59, claims against government defendants must be filed within 90 days.

The sooner you get a slip and fall Newark attorney involved in your claim, the better. Contacting a lawyer early on can preserve evidence that would otherwise be lost and remove the burden of dealing with the insurance company from your shoulders – because you have enough to deal with right now.

2. If the Defendant’s Insurance Company Says I’m Partially at Fault for the Slip and Fall Accident, Can I Still Sue?

If the insurance company is putting the blame for the slip and fall accident on you, it’s definitely time to speak to an attorney.

Just because the insurance company says you’re at fault doesn’t mean it’s true. The insurance company wants to pay out as little as possible, so the company benefits from tricking you into giving up on your claim. Let an attorney review your case for free and determine who is really at fault.

Even if you are partially at fault, that doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t sue. Under New Jersey’s Comparative Negligence law, you can still sue as long as you were not more than 50 percent at fault for the accident. Your settlement or award will be reduced by the percentage you are at fault – but that’s still far better than getting nothing.

You won’t know if you have the grounds for a claim or not until you discuss the details of your case with an experienced Newark slip and fall lawyer.

About Our Newark, NJ Law Office

Our Newark, NJ Law office is located at:
Console and Associates, P.C.
494 Broad Street, #208B
Newark, NJ 07102

Client Testimonial

“Console and Associates has a very compassionate staff that are highly qualified and knowledgeable in their field. Their customer service is unmatched and I would highly recommend their services to all.” Russell S. / Client
Rating: 5/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

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