Homeowners know how important it is to keep their homes safe. They keep things clean and neat, as well as perform maintenance to ensure that their property is safe for themselves, their family, and any other guests. However, not all property owners think the same way. Unfortunately, there are plenty of irresponsible property owners or property owners who deliberately avoid maintenance and upkeep to save money. This results in infrastructural failures such as ceiling collapses. When these occur, victims are often left with long-standing injuries that can be catastrophic. What can they do afterward? If you were involved in a ceiling collapse, proving negligence is fundamental to you winning a ceiling collapse lawsuit. Here is what you can do.
New York law mandates that owners and any others in charge of a property have a legal duty to ensure that their property is safe for others. Victims of accidents on properties can have rights through premises liability claims. Liability often hinges on establishing negligence, and these are the elements of negligence you will need to prove in order to receive compensation:
A crucial factor in determining negligence is establishing that your property owner was aware of the danger – or impending danger – yet refused to take action to mitigate or fix the issues that caused the ceiling collapse. What constitutes this “actual notice”? Courts can look for prior reports or complaints that have been made about an unsafe ceiling. These can prove that the property manager was made aware of a dangerous situation yet neglected to take action for whatever reason.
Here is an example. The resident of a building noticed that a ceiling tile had come loose. They then inform the property manager, who takes no action to rectify the situation. Three days later, the tile dislodges and falls onto an individual crossing beneath it, resulting in injuries. The property manager can thus be said to have received actual notice of the unsafe ceiling that they did not act on and can be held liable for negligence.
If you can prove negligence in your premises liability claim, you may be entitled to receive compensation for the following:
If you are a victim of a ceiling collapse and are seeking compensation, you can reach out to us today for a free consultation. A proudly New York-based law firm, we know the value of keeping our city’s infrastructure safe and are well-versed in premises liability claims. Contact us to find out more.