This winter, Governor Murphy took a lot of heat for how he handled the winter weather. First, we suffered through that disastrous storm in November that left people stranded on the roadways for hours. Then, he got laughed at for bringing the roads whenever there was a flurry in the forecast. The winter weather made a fool of him, as it did many of us this year.
If you slipped and fell in Hackensack or the Hudson County area when the weather was bad you are not alone. Every year many people contact our office after suffering serious slip and fall injuries during the winter months, and this year is no exception. We help many clients get compensated for medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering related to slip and fall accidents on both public and private property.
Everyone knows that getting out and about in the snow and ice is dangerous, but that does not mean that property owners should be let off the hook when someone is injured on their property when the weather is bad. Under New Jersey law, it is the responsibility of property owners to remove unsafe conditions from their premises — including snow and ice — within a reasonable amount of time.
The key questions in a wintertime slip and fall case are:
- Did the property owner did a reasonably good job clearing the property of snow and ice?
- If the property was not at all cleared, should it have been? Was there enough time between the bad weather and the accident that a reasonable property owner would have had things cleared?
These are obviously subjective questions. What a reasonable property owner would do depends on the weather, the time of day, and many other factors. This is why it is important to talk with an experienced slip and fall attorney as soon as possible after an accident. That way your memory of the event is still fresh, and important evidence can be collected.
If you are wondering whether you may be eligible for compensation to cover the costs of your winter weather woes, you should schedule an appointment with our team of experienced attorneys.
Posted in: Slip and Fall Accidents