Icy sidewalks, apartment stairways, retail store hazards and negligent security cases across northern Bergen County. Notice, evidence preservation and multi-defendant claim construction.
Englewood Personal Injury Lawyers handles premises liability injury claims across northern Bergen County and the Palisades — slip and fall on ice or wet floors, apartment building stairway falls, injury from an unsecured hazard in a retail store, and negligent security cases at parking structures, hotels and residential complexes. These claims turn on what the property owner knew, when they knew it, and what a reasonable owner would have done about it.
Serving Englewood, Fort Lee, Tenafly, Cresskill, Alpine, Demarest and neighbouring Palisades towns.
The core question in almost every premises case is notice. A wet floor with no warning sign is not automatically a lawsuit; it becomes one when the owner or an employee knew about the spill (actual notice) or when the hazard had been there long enough that a reasonably diligent owner would have found it and dealt with it (constructive notice). Proving that timeline is what separates a paid claim from a dismissed one.
The injury patterns we see: wrist and hip fractures from falls on unmarked steps or transitions in flooring surface; back and neck injury from falls on stairways with defective handrails; head injuries from falls in poorly lit parking garages; and, in negligent security cases, injuries from criminal assault where the owner had prior incidents and did nothing to address them.
The status of the injured person on the property matters. New Jersey classifies visitors as invitees (customers, tenants, business guests — highest duty of care), licensees (social guests — moderate duty), and trespassers (limited duty). Most premises cases involve an invitee.
Snow and ice cases follow the “ongoing storm” rule: commercial owners generally cannot be held liable for ice conditions during an active storm and for a reasonable time after. Once the storm is over and clearance would have been reasonable, the duty attaches. Municipal sidewalks are their own subcategory — residential owners do not owe a duty for sidewalk defects, but commercial owners do under Stewart v. 104 Wallace Street.
Landlord liability for tenant injuries turns on the lease, the common-area maintenance obligation, and whether the hazard was in the tenant’s exclusive control. Multi-family buildings frequently have multiple insurance policies (owner, property manager, snow removal contractor) that all have to be identified early.
The statute of limitations is two years. Claims against a public entity require the ninety-day notice.
Report the incident to the property manager or store manager in writing and get a copy of any incident report they generate — these forms sometimes disappear if requested weeks later. Photograph the hazard from multiple angles before it is cleaned or repaired; the surveillance footage that would capture your fall is routinely overwritten within thirty days and needs to be preserved by a written demand. Note the names of any witnesses. Get medical evaluation the same day if possible. Do not sign anything the property owner sends you before consulting counsel.
Surveillance footage of the hazard is usually gone within thirty days. You can request a free consultation online and an attorney will contact you the same business day. Consultations are free, and we come to you if travel is difficult after the injury.
Related practice areas: Dog bite claims · Serious spinal and head-injury cases
Surveillance footage of the hazard is routinely overwritten within thirty days. Request a free consultation and an attorney will contact you the same business day.