I was shopping at the mall. I slipped and fell in the mall and injured my leg. Do I have a case?
You may have a case depending upon what caused your accident. As indicated in a prior post, a key question for a slip and fall accident is notice of the condition that caused your accident. In order to recover for your injuries, you must show the responsible party knew or should have known of the slippery condition. You must also show there was a reasonable opportunity to clean the slippery condition.
Probably the most important issue in your case is suing the correct party. The responsible party depends on what mall you fell in and where you fell. A slip and fall in a mall can be very complicated. An out-of-possession mall owner is not liable for injuries resulting from the condition of the premises. Liability is determined by occupation and control of a premises. Henry v Hamilton Equities, Inc., 34 NY3d 136, 114 NYS3d 21 (2019); Putnam v Stout, 38 NY2d 607, 381 NYS2d 848 (1976).
This is a difficult issue because there could be multiple owners of a mall or parts of a mall. So you would have to determine exactly where your accident happened to decide who the owner was of that property. And then you must determine the responsible party.
Fall in a Store
If your accident happened inside a store in the mall, you would sue the landlord of the mall and the store owner. Normally the store proprietor is responsible for an accident in the store. However, there are two problems. One issue is determining the correct entity that owns and runs the store. Even small stores may have one name on the sign out front of the store and a completely different entity which owns and runs the store. There could also be an additional question of the lease. There could be specific clauses in the lease which allocate responsibility for an accident to a landlord, a tenant, or even a third-party. Great Northern Ins. Co. v Interior Const. Corp., 7 NY3d 412, 823 NYS2d 765 (2006).
Thus for a complicated situation like a mall, you will not know who the responsible party is until you start the lawsuit and obtain discovery from defendants.
Fall in a Common Area
Finally, if your accident occurred in a common area of the mall, that situation can be just as complicated. Depending upon where the accident happened in the common area, you will not know until you start a lawsuit who is responsible. The landlord for the mall may have a management company which maintains common areas. Or the management company could hire a security or janitorial service, which could also be responsible to maintain a common area.
Sometimes an accident that is easy to understand can turn into a complicated case.
By James Santner, Esq.
If you have questions about a similar situation, feel free to contact us. Consultations are free and there is no fee unless we win.