Can a Providence Business Be Liable If a Customer Is Injured By a Broken Sidewalk?

While getting hurt inside a business typically involves less ambiguity as to the at-fault party, being injured just outside the property opens up a host of questions about the responsibility of helping the injured person. When it comes to paying for medical bills due to a slip-and-fall accident on a sidewalk just outside a business, a Providence business can be held liable when a customer is hurt by a broken sidewalk. However, it depends significantly on who controls the sidewalk and what the business knows about the hazard. Understanding how Rhode Island law treats these cases, who is responsible for compensation, what to do in the days after the fall, and the importance of contacting a slip-and-fall lawyer in Rhode Island can ensure accident victims receive the full range of compensation they deserve.

How Rhode Island Law Treats Customer Injuries

The law in Rhode Island concerning premises liability requires property owners and businesses to exercise reasonable care to ensure their premises are safe for customers. Since businesses invite customers onto their property to shop, eat, or use a service, the customers are referred to as “invitees,” and they are given the greatest degree of legal protection.

This duty involves checking for hazards, repairing dangerous situations within a reasonable time frame, and advising visitors concerning dangers which cannot be corrected immediately. A sidewalk that is cracked or crumbling at the entrance to a business is a typical example of a hazard within the scope of this duty.

Who Owns the Sidewalk Matters

It is commonly believed that the city is in charge of all the sidewalks. In fact, different parties might be responsible for the sidewalk outside a business in Providence. Generally, deciding which of these parties is responsible is the most crucial of the early steps in making a slip-and-fall case.

Sidewalks on the Business’s Private Property

There are some walkways which are entirely on the land owned by the business owner. For example, the path from a car park to the front door or the paved plaza in front of a shop front. The business or its landlord has control over these areas and is responsible for keeping them in a safe condition. Liability in such cases is generally easy to establish.

Public Sidewalks Along the Street

The city owns the public sidewalks and can therefore be held liable if there are defects. Claims brought against a city or town have to go through special procedures, which may involve shorter notice periods than those required for ordinary injury claims. Nevertheless, a business can still be held responsible if it was the one that caused the defect, if it damaged the sidewalk, or if it had taken on maintenance responsibilities under a local ordinance or lease agreement.

Landlords, Property Managers, and Contractors

Commercial leases usually assign the responsibility for repairing and maintaining the sidewalk to either the landlord or the tenant, and it is also possible that a property management company or a snow removal contractor has undertaken this task. To find out which party or parties may be liable for compensation, slip-and-fall lawyers examine the leases, the maintenance contracts, and the city’s records.

What Was the Business Aware of?

To establish a premises liability claim in Rhode Island, it is generally necessary to demonstrate that the owner of the property knew of the dangerous condition or ought to have known of it. This is what the law refers to as “notice” and it exists in two forms.

A notice is considered to exist if the business was aware of the defective sidewalk. This could be the case if there had been earlier complaints from customers, if emails had been sent to a landlord, or if an employee had reported the crack.

Constructive notice occurs when a hazard can be seen for a sufficient length of time so a reasonably careful owner would have had the opportunity to discover it and repair it. An easily noticeable weathered crack which has been growing for months is typically an example of this.

Notice may be shown in a variety of ways, and the sources listed below are often useful in showing what a business knows and the sooner you collect them the stronger your case will be. These include:

• Maintenance logs and repair requests
• Prior incident reports and customer complaints
• Photographs showing the age and condition of the damage
• Security camera footage from the entrance
• Communications between tenants, landlords, and contractors

Common Sidewalk Hazards That Lead to Claims

The battered streets of Providence, due to the severe winters, lead to a great deal of damage to the pavements. Each of the hazards listed below is often found in various types of slip-and-fall injuries and can be used to support a claim where a party responsible for the situation had not taken steps to deal with it.

• Raised or sunken slabs created by tree roots or shifting ground
• Cracks and potholes that catch a foot or a cane
• Crumbling edges and loose bricks along older storefronts
• Broken curb ramps at accessible entrances
• Uneven transitions where a sidewalk meets a driveway or doorway
• Ice and snow buildup on damaged surfaces that hold water

Bad lighting and the absence of warning signs can make it harder to see any of these hazards, and these factors increase a business’s responsibility.

Injuries Commonly Linked to Sidewalk Falls

Falling on hard concrete can result in serious injury with these victims frequently suffering fractures of the wrist, hip, ankle, or arm, as well as torn ligaments, herniated discs, and traumatic brain injuries. Older people are at greater risk of complications following a fall and recovery may take several months.

Such injuries frequently require surgery, involve physical therapy, and result in time off from work. A claim may ask for compensation for medical expenses, lost income, diminished earning capacity, and pain and suffering. The amount that any claim is worth is determined by the facts of the case, and no personal injury lawyer in Rhode Island can guarantee a particular outcome.

How Fault Is Shared Under Rhode Island Law

Rhode Island operates under a pure comparative negligence rule, meaning you are still entitled to receive compensation even if the court finds you are partly to blame, and the amount you are awarded is reduced by the proportion of fault you bear. If a customer was found to be 20% at fault, they would receive a 20% reduction in the amount of the final award. 

Massachusetts applies a modified form of the rule, which prevents recovery where a person is more than 50% at fault. People who have been injured in a business in either Providence or Boston should be aware that the laws differ when you cross the state line.

What to Do After a Fall on a Broken Sidewalk

The steps after a slip-and fall injury can affect how strong your case is, and using this checklist will help to look after both your health and your legal rights.

Need a Slip-and-Fall Attorney? Call d’Oliveira & Associates Today

A single fall outside a business in Providence can alter your life instantly. You deserve a legal team that will listen, carry out an investigation, and fight on your behalf to obtain the compensation necessary for your recovery. d’Oliveira & Associates has been providing help to injured individuals all over Rhode Island and Massachusetts for many decades.