How Common are Pedestrian Injuries from Falling Objects?

New York is a walking city. While it’s challenging to move around without a car in other parts of America, over 66% of New Yorkers walk as a primary mode of transportation every month. While walking is a free, convenient, and healthy way to move about the city for work and leisure, it comes with certain risks. In addition to pedestrian accidents, people walking the streets of New York are at risk for struck-by accidents. Struck by accidents occur when a falling object from a building hits a person walking on the ground below. While struck by accidents are most common in the construction sector, they can happen to anyone.

Objects falling from a great height can cause serious injuries and death to people below. This is why if a falling object in New York harms you or a loved one, you must contact one of our experienced personal injury attorneys. An attorney from our team can determine who’s responsible for your injuries and help hold them accountable.

What Kind of Injuries Can I Suffer from Falling Objects?

As objects fall from a great height, they begin to speed up. A falling object accelerates at 9.8 meters per second or around 32 feet per second. The further an object falls, the faster it accelerates. The faster an object accelerates, the greater the damage it can cause if it hits someone or something below.

Even something as seemingly small and harmless as a roof tile can cause severe lacerations and facial disfigurement. Larger objects can cause even greater injuries. Common injuries from falling objects include but are not necessarily limited to:

  • Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)/Brain Damage
  • Concussions
  • Vision Impairment/Loss
  • Skull Fractures
  • Facial Disfigurement
  • Cuts, Bruises, and Lacerations
  • Broken Bones
  • Death

These are only a few potential injuries you can sustain in a struck-by accident. The severity of injuries depends on what you were hit by, how far it fell, and how much opportunity it had to accelerate. If a falling object strikes you or a loved one, it’s essential you seek immediate medical attention. Time is a significant factor in struck-by injuries, particularly if you were hit in the head or suffered spinal damage. Seeking immediate medical attention may be the only thing standing between you and permanent injuries, disability, or even death.

Who’s Responsible if I’m Struck by a Falling Object?

Property owners are responsible under New York premises liability law to maintain buildings so that they are “reasonably safe.” Reasonably safe means that the average or “reasonable” person would be secure in the environment. Keeping a property reasonably safe includes ensuring that no exterior decoration, structure, object, façade, or more is loose or unsecured so that it might fall and injure someone below. Suppose a property owner is aware of a potential danger. In that case, they must fix or replace it right away and also place clearly visible signs or other warnings in the vicinity to notify passersby or occupants of the building. Failure to make appropriate replacements or repairs promptly or label hazards clearly can result in the property owner being held liable.

To hold a property owner liable, an attorney must establish negligence. Establishing negligence entails proving four facts: Duty (it was the property owner’s responsibility to maintain a safe environment), breach (the property owner failed to maintain a secure environment), causation (the property owner’s failure to maintain a safe environment resulted in an injury), and damage (the financial or noneconomic harm caused by your injury).

How Do I Establish Liability if I’m Struck by a Falling Object

Just because a falling object struck you does not necessarily mean you can hold the property owner liable. An aspect of proving liability is notice. Notice establishes that the property owner was aware of a potential risk but failed to respond or did not respond promptly. It is a possible defense for a property owner if they can prove they did not know about a potential hazard. For example, if loose roofing tiles fell and caused an injury, but the property owner can demonstrate they had no way of knowing the tiles were loose, they may be able to avoid liability.

An experienced personal injury attorney can help gather evidence to demonstrate a property owner was aware of a potential hazard but failed to act. For example, an attorney can see if any complaints were filed or notices given to the property owner regarding the structural integrity of the building. An attorney can also see if a property owner was notified by tenants, building inspectors, or other parties about poor maintenance or parts of the building in need of repair.

Establishing negligence is key for a personal injury case resulting from a falling object. One of our attorneys can review your case and help develop a plan for proving negligence and collecting the compensation you deserve.

What Should I Do if I’m Hit by a Falling Object?

Getting hit by a falling object is one of the most potentially devastating yet also completely random injuries a person can experience. An everyday walk to work, a trip to the store, or a stroll with a friend could end in a trip to the hospital. Depending on the extent of your injuries, you could be facing weeks, months, or even years of hospital visits, surgery, and physical therapy. Many times, someone is responsible for falling objects from buildings. Those people deserve to be held accountable. That’s why you should call the Rizzuto Injury Firm today.

The attorneys of Rizzuto Injury Firm have decades worth of combined experience in dealing with New York personal injury law. They’ve seen every type of injury from struck-by accidents and know how to identify the responsible parties and hold them accountable. Our legal team has a particular dislike for irresponsible property owners whose negligence hurts innocent people.

Struck-by accidents come out of nowhere and can change your life in the blink of an eye. With Rizzuto Injury Firm on your side, you can focus on moving forward while we hold the right people accountable. If you or a loved one were hurt by a falling object in New York, don’t hesitate to contact one of our attorneys at 516-604-5496 to schedule your free case evaluation.