Both private businesses and public agencies are generally responsible for slip and fall injuries occurring in or around their premises. To be liable, the condition must have been one which they knew or reasonably could have been expected to know about and which they reasonably could have prevented. Wet floors, tools left out, or uneven flooring are common examples of where business owners have been found liable for slip and fall injuries.
Generally, they are held liable under a tort theory. To bring a tort case, a plaintiff must show that they were owed a reasonable duty of care, that that duty was breached, that they were injured as a result of the breach, and that they had damages as a result of the breach. Business owners have routinely been found to have breached a reasonable duty of care by creating or allowing unsafe conditions that lead to a slip and fall accident.
This duty can extend beyond their buildings. Adjacent privately owned sidewalks and parking lots are easily recognized as under the building owner’s control. In some cases, a public sidewalk may also fall under their responsibility. Business owners must avoid creating unsafe conditions, such as by allowing water to flow onto the sidewalk, and may also be tasked by local law or ordinance with keeping the sidewalks surrounding their property free of water, ice, and other debris.
In one case, an employee attempted to expand this theory after he slipped on an icy sidewalk outside of his work place while on his way to work. He filed a worker’s compensation claim for his injuries. However, the claim was denied on the ground that the injury was not connected to his employment. The judge said that any passerby walking along the sidewalk could have been injured and the employee was at no greater risk of injury due to his employment. While the worker’s compensation claim was denied, the employee might have successfully brought a tort claim.
Source: Matter of Trotman v. New York State Courts, 2014 NY Slip Op 03002