Injured in a Public Space? How Premises Liability Works in Unexpected Places
Introduction
By Kari Law Group, PLLC
📍 Richmond Hill, NY | ☎️ (718) 395-1818 | ✉️ info@karilaw.com
You’re walking through a subway station when your foot hits a broken tile — bam, you’re down. Or maybe you're dining at a popular NYC café when a loose chair leg sends you tumbling. You don’t expect to get injured in these everyday places. But when you do, who’s responsible?
At Kari Law Group, PLLC, we help injured New Yorkers understand their rights when an accident happens in a public or commercial space. It’s not always a dramatic “slip and fall” — sometimes, it’s a leaky ceiling in a stairwell or a poorly lit ramp at a shopping mall. Wherever it happens, the law still applies.
What Is Premises Liability, Really?
🧭 Premises liability is the legal responsibility property owners (or managers) have to maintain a safe environment. If they fail to fix a hazard they knew about — or should have known about — and someone gets hurt, they can be held liable.
This applies to:
• Subway stations and platforms
• Grocery stores and parking lots
• Restaurants, bars, and cafés
• Parks and community centers
• Apartment buildings and stairwells
• Sidewalks maintained by businesses or landlords
Who’s Responsible?
🔎 It depends. For example:
✔ Subway station injury? The MTA may be responsible.
✔ Restaurant or retail store? It’s often the business owner or their insurance.
✔ Sidewalk outside an apartment building? The landlord might be on the hook.
That’s why it’s critical to act quickly. Evidence can disappear fast, especially in high-traffic public places. We work fast to secure surveillance footage, gather witness statements, and document the hazard before it’s gone.
What You Should Do If You're Hurt
1. Take photos of the scene and what caused your injury.
2. Report it — to a manager, building security, or appropriate authority.
3. Get medical attention immediately, even if you feel okay.
4. Talk to a lawyer before accepting blame or signing anything.
Real Talk, Real Cases
We’ve helped clients injured at train stations, school gyms, retail chains, and even inside elevators. Many thought they didn’t have a case — until we uncovered the building’s inspection failures or a long-overdue repair order.
You Deserve Safe Public Spaces
Just because an injury happened in a “normal place” doesn’t make it your fault. You have the right to walk, shop, eat, and travel safely — and if someone’s negligence took that from you, we’re here to help.
📞 Contact Kari Law Group, PLLC for a free case review today.
Let’s hold property owners accountable — and protect the community, one case at a time.
