Slip and Fall Lawyer, Ship Bottom NJ

You may. A property owner or business in Ship Bottom has to keep the premises reasonably safe and to fix or warn about hazards it knew about or should have found with reasonable inspection. Whether that duty was broken depends on the facts: what the hazard was, how long it was there, and what the owner did about it. Photograph the spot and your footwear, keep the incident report if one was written, and get checked by a doctor. The consultation is free and we will tell you honestly whether the claim is worth pursuing.

Generally two years from the date of the fall under N.J.S.A. 2A:14-2. If the fall happened on property owned by a public entity, such as a municipal building, a public school or a county park, you must serve a notice of claim within 90 days under the Tort Claims Act, N.J.S.A. 59:8-8, or the claim can be lost. Surveillance video is often overwritten within weeks, so the sooner we send a preservation letter the better.

New Jersey uses comparative negligence, N.J.S.A. 2A:15-5.1. You can still recover as long as your share of fault is not greater than the other side's, and your recovery is reduced by your percentage. The open-and-obvious argument is a common defense, not an automatic bar; owners can still be liable for a hazard they had a duty to address. We push back on both with the evidence.

Possibly. Under New Jersey's ongoing-storm rule, a commercial property owner generally does not have to clear snow and ice while a storm is still in progress, but the duty to clear within a reasonable time afterward is real. Timing matters, so note when the storm ended, when you fell, and what the lot looked like, and call soon after it happens.

Nothing up front and nothing unless we recover for you. Premises cases are handled on a contingency fee that is explained in writing before you sign, and the consultation is free.