Many businesses, apartment buildings, hotels, retail shops, and other public places cover their floors with carpets. While carpeting can enhance the aesthetics of a location, it can become hazardous when it is not maintained, repaired, or replaced when necessary. Significantly, a property owner has a legal duty to ensure their premises are safe for guests — this includes ensuring the carpeted areas are free from hazards. If you were injured in a trip and fall accident caused by a worn, torn, or dangerous carpet, you may be entitled to file a personal injury lawsuit to recover your economic and non-economic damages.
Common Carpet Trip and Fall Hazards
Carpets in poor condition can be dangerous and pose trip and fall hazards to those on the premises. If an owner knew that the carpeting on their property was defective, they could be held liable for trip and fall accident-related injuries resulting from their failure to remedy the condition in a timely manner. A property owner might also be held accountable for negligence if they should have known about the dangerous condition through reasonable inspection — or for failure to warn about it.
Trip and fall accidents involving carpets can be caused by a variety of hazardous conditions, including:
- Unsecured and loose carpeting
- Failure to use runners or floor mats
- Wrinkles, bumps, or waves in the carpet
- Uneven floor levels between hardwood and carpet
- Wet carpets
- Torn or worn-out carpets
- Hidden extension cords
- Improper lighting
Although a property owner is usually the party who is responsible for a carpet trip and fall accident, there can sometimes be other potentially liable parties, depending on the circumstances. For example, the maintenance or cleaning company for the premises might be named in the lawsuit. In the event improper installation caused the carpet to bunch or sag, leading to the trip and fall accident, the company that fitted the carpeting may be held liable. Conducting a thorough investigation is crucial to ensure that any liable party answers for the negligence that caused you to suffer an injury.
What Should You Do If You Tripped and Fell on Carpeting?
The injuries that a worn carpet trip and fall can cause are often serious and can include traumatic brain injury, nerve damage, broken bones, paralysis, hip fractures, and various other injuries. Even if you don’t think you’ve been hurt, seeking medical attention immediately after a trip and fall accident is important to ensure you haven’t suffered any internal damage. Getting the necessary medical attention is also vital to build any personal injury claim you might later file. Your medical documentation will help to prove your injuries and how they impacted your life and livelihood.
In addition to obtaining prompt medical treatment, there are a few other things you should do after a carpet trip and fall accident that can be helpful in building a solid personal injury case. Take photos or a video of the hazardous condition that caused you to trip and obtain the names and contact information of any witnesses who saw the accident as it occurred. You should also file a report with the property owner or manager to document the incident.
Your attorney can assist you with gathering any other evidence needed to establish negligence in your case, including maintenance logs, surveillance footage, and other relevant documentation, based on the circumstances. If you can demonstrate that another party’s negligence caused your injuries, you may be entitled to recover your monetary losses — including your unreimbursed medical bills, lost wages, and out-of-pocket expenses — as well as compensation for your pain and suffering.
Contact an Experienced New York Personal Injury Attorney
If you were injured in a trip and fall accident on someone else’s property due to a hazardous worn carpet condition, you may be eligible to receive compensation for your economic and non-economic damages. A knowledgeable personal injury attorney can fight for your rights and strive to obtain the compensation you deserve.
The Dearie Law Firm, P.C. has represented victims of premises liability accidents for over three decades and works diligently to secure the best possible results in each case. Contact us today for a consultation.