Premises-liability cases across Bergen County — icy walkways, wet retail floors, unmarked hazards, stair failures. CCTV overwrites fast, so does the inspection log — we send preservation letters within the week.
Hackensack Personal Injury Lawyers represents people injured in premises-liability incidents across Bergen County — icy walkways in Teaneck, wet supermarket floors in Paramus, broken stair treads in Hackensack apartments, unmarked hazards on retail and commercial property. Slip, trip and fall cases turn on notice and evidence preservation, and both work against the injured person the longer they wait.
A property owner in New Jersey owes different duties depending on why you were on the property. Invitees — customers in a store, patients in a medical office, tenants in common areas — are owed the highest duty: reasonable inspection, warning of known hazards, and correction of dangerous conditions the owner knew about or should have discovered with reasonable care.
That “should have known” standard is where these cases are won and lost. A puddle that was on the floor for thirty seconds is usually not actionable. A puddle that was on the floor for two hours with no inspection log and no cone almost always is. Which of those two situations you had is a factual question decided on evidence that is available for a very short window before the store’s cleaning schedule, incident report and CCTV loop overwrite.
Three rules dominate:
New Jersey draws an unusual line on sidewalk liability. Commercial property owners are responsible for the sidewalk abutting their property and can be held liable for injuries caused by their failure to maintain it. Residential owners generally are not liable for defects in the sidewalk itself (though they may be liable if their own conduct — e.g. shovelling badly — created the hazard). Whether a mixed-use property counts as residential or commercial for this purpose is fact-specific and matters a great deal to which insurance policy is in play.
Report the incident to the store, landlord or manager in writing and ask for a copy of the incident report — if they refuse, note the refusal. Photograph the hazard from multiple angles including something for scale (a foot, a coin). Get the names of anyone present. Preserve the shoes and clothing you were wearing. Seek medical attention promptly and describe how the injury happened accurately — the emergency department record becomes exhibit A on causation.
Most importantly, do not wait to send a preservation letter. CCTV in most Bergen County retail properties overwrites within 7 to 30 days depending on the system, and cleaning logs and inspection sheets are often destroyed on a rolling basis. A preservation letter within the first week creates a legal obligation to retain evidence that would otherwise disappear.
Premises cases collapse when the CCTV overwrites and the cleaning log gets shredded on schedule. Request a free case evaluation — a Bergen County personal injury attorney will review the police report, medical records and the insurance policies in play, and give you an honest read on the case before you commit to anything.
Related: Workplace injuries · Product liability
Premises cases collapse when the CCTV overwrites and the cleaning log is shredded on schedule. Request a free case evaluation or scroll up to the contact form — a Bergen County personal injury attorney reviews every enquiry.