Strip Mal Slip and Fall Rights in New York

I fell while walking in a strip mall. My hand and wrist and needed surgery following the accident. I had slipped on a wet and sticky substance outside of one of the stores in the strip mall. What are my rights?

Sustaining a severe hand and wrist injury requiring surgery turns your life upside down—especially when it happens while engaged in basic daily tasks like walking through a shopping center. Slipping on a wet, sticky substance in a common walkway outside a retail store raises immediate questions about accountability and legal remedies under New York premises liability law.

Successfully pursuing a personal injury claim for a slip and fall at a strip mall requires navigating two primary issues: determining who owed you a legal duty of care and establishing whether that party was legally negligent.

1. Determining Duty: Who is Responsible for the Common Areas?

In strip mall accidents, identifying the proper defendants requires evaluating the legal relationship between the property owner (landlord) and the retail tenant (store owner). Under New York law, liability turns on possession, control, and specific contractual duties regarding the location where the injury occurred.

Landlord Duty and Common Areas

Generally, an owner or landlord of a commercial property has a non-delegable duty to maintain common areas—such as shared sidewalks, walkways, and parking lots—in a reasonably safe condition. Basso v. Miller, 40 N.Y.2d 233 (1976). If the wet and sticky substance was located on a shared exterior walkway, the strip mall owner primarily bears responsibility for keeping that area clear of hazards. But see Alnashmi v Certified Analytical Group, Inc., 89 AD3d 10, 929 NYS2d 620 (2d Dept 2011).

Retail Tenant Duty

Whether the adjacent store owner can also be held liable depends largely on the commercial lease agreement and the tenant’s control over the area immediately outside its doors.

• Control and Special Use: As a general rule, a lessee is not liable for injuries occurring on an exterior sidewalk or common area unless the lessee created the dangerous condition, made a “special use” of the area for its own benefit, or assumed a duty under the lease. Guzov v. Manor Inn Holding Corp., 13 A.D.3d 339 (2d Dept 2004).
• Lease Provisions: If the lease obligates the retail tenant to clean, maintain, or inspect the sidewalk area directly in front of its store, or if store employees actively created or contributed to the spill, both the landlord and the commercial tenant may share liability. Maganias v Scott Realty Co., 187 AD2d 417, 589 NYS2d 556 (2d Dept 1992).

Because both parties may disclaim responsibility at the outset, a thorough legal strategy typically involves filing suit against both the strip mall owner and the adjacent store tenant to investigate lease terms and maintenance logs through pre-trial discovery.

2. Proving Negligence: The Crucial Element of Notice

Identifying the defendants is only the first step. To recover damages for medical expenses, pain and suffering, and lost wages, you must prove that the defendant was negligent.

In New York slip and fall litigation, proving negligence requires establishing three core elements:

1. The defendant owed you a duty of care;
2. A dangerous or defective condition existed; and
3. The defendant either created the dangerous condition or had actual or constructive notice of it in time to remedy or warn against it. Peralta v Henriquez, 100 NY2d 139, 760 NYS2d 741, 790 NE2d 1170 (2003).

Transitory Conditions and the Proof Problem

A “wet and sticky substance” on an outdoor walkway is a transitory condition. If the spill was caused by a third party—such as another shopper dropping a drink moments before you walked by—neither the landlord nor the store owner is automatically liable. Property owners are not absolute insurers of visitor safety; they are only required to exercise reasonable care under the circumstances.

If the condition was temporary and unknown to the property managers, proving notice becomes the critical battlefield:

• Actual Notice: The owner or tenant was explicitly told about the sticky spill prior to your fall or their employees observed it directly. Quinn v. Holiday Health & Fitness Ctr. of N.Y., Inc., 15 A.D.3d 857 (4th Dept 2005).
• Constructive Notice: To constitute constructive notice, the spill must be visible and apparent, and it must exist for a sufficient length of time prior to the accident to permit the defendant’s employees to discover and remedy it. Andersen v Park Center Associates, 250 AD2d 473, 673 NYS2d 396 (1st Dept 1998);

Establishing Proof: From Victim Testimony to Video Surveillance

In many cases, an injured party’s testimony regarding the physical properties of the substance—such as whether it was dried, dirty, or sticky—can help support an inference that the hazard existed for an extended period. However, eyewitness description alone can be challenged as speculative.

In modern premises liability litigation, objective evidence plays a pivotal role:

• Video Surveillance: Strip malls and retail stores frequently operate exterior security cameras covering storefronts and walkways. Surveillance footage can establish the precise time the spill occurred, how long it sat unaddressed, and whether store employees walked past it without taking corrective action.
• Maintenance and Sweep Logs: Reviewing the property’s routine inspection schedules can reveal whether the landlord or tenant failed to execute reasonable maintenance procedures on the day of the incident.

Such proof, although possible to obtain, may be difficult to obtain from a defendant.

Next Steps for Your Claim

If you have suffered a severe injury in a strip mall slip and fall, taking prompt action is essential:

1. Seek immediate medical evaluation and follow all prescribed surgical and rehabilitative treatments.
2. Report the incident in writing to both the property management and the store manager.
3. Preserve all evidence, including photographs of the scene, your clothing/shoes, and details of any potential witnesses.

By James Santner, Esq.