When will the law say a property owner “should have known” about a dangerous condition on his or her property?

A New York property owner may be held liable if he or she knew or should have had enough time to know about a dangerous condition and failed to address the problem, leading to a premises liability accident.

Whether a property owner should have known about a dangerous condition depends in part on how long the condition had existed and whether the owner had had sufficient time to discover the hazard and repair it. The question of whether a property owner should have known about a hazard is a point of dispute in many premises liability injury cases. Property owners have a legal responsibility to keep their property in reasonably safe condition and to warn of known hazards.

How Long Was The Hazardous Condition Present?

Had a hazardous condition been present on the property for weeks or months without being recognized or repaired? Had the property owner or manager taken reasonable steps to discover the hazardous condition and address it or post a warning? Would a reasonably careful property owner in a similar situation have had time to discover the unsafe condition? If a reasonably careful property owner would have likely had sufficient time to discover the condition, then the property owner may have been negligent in their legal duty to inspect their property, maintain the property in reasonably safe condition for guests and visitors and to warn of dangerous conditions that could not be immediately repaired.

As part of our investigation of a premises liability accident, the attorneys at David Resnick & Associates, P.C., make an evaluation of whether a property owner should have known about a hazard and whether the accident that occurred was foreseeable. We try to move quickly to preserve evidence of the hazardous condition and examine whether any steps were taken to correct the condition or post a warning about it. If a property owner is negligent by failing to repair a dangerous condition and their negligence results in a serious injury, the injured person may hold the property owner liable and demand compensation to cover medical bills, lost income and other losses.

A premises liability lawyer at David Resnick & Associates, P.C., can review the circumstances of how your injury occurred and discuss with you whether a property owner should have known about the hazardous condition and is legally responsible for your injuries. If we believe that you have a valid personal injury lawsuit, our dedicated attorneys will offer to represent you on a contingency fee basis.