We are New Jersey Slip & Fall & Premises Liability Lawyers
Holding negligent property owners accountable, establishing constructive notice, and protecting injured victims in Passaic, Bergen, and Northern New Jersey since 1922.
A sudden slip, trip, or fall on a hard, unforgiving surface is far more than a minor embarrassment. In a fraction of a second, a slick supermarket floor, an icy commercial sidewalk, or a broken handrail can result in life-altering orthopedic trauma, fractured bones, or permanent brain damage. As you struggle to recover and face growing medical bills, negligent property owners and their multi-billion-dollar commercial insurance carriers immediately go on the defensive, claiming that the hazard was “obvious” or attempting to blame you for your own fall.
At Raff & Raff, LLP, we have protected injured New Jersey residents and their families for over a century (1922–Present). We know that premises liability litigation is highly technical and demands immediate, aggressive action. Led by our Managing Partner Stephen T. Raff, Esq.—recently honored as the Passaic County Bar Association’s Distinguished Lawyer of the Year— and Certified Civil Trial Attorneys Michael S. Raff, Esq. and Daniel A. Levy, Esq., our trial team takes immediate steps to preserve critical evidence, subpoena corporate cleaning logs, and secure local surveillance footage. We refuse to accept cheap, fast settlement offers that fail to cover your long-term medical care, rehabilitation, and lost household income. We prepare every single premises liability case from day one as if we are presenting it to a jury, forcing commercial owners to respect your claim.
We represent injured clients strictly on a contingency fee basis under our No Recovery, No Fee Guarantee. This means you do not pay us a single dollar out-of-pocket, and we only collect a legal fee if we successfully win a financial settlement or jury verdict on your behalf.
Overcoming Complex Legal Hurdles in New Jersey Premises Law
Select a category below to discover how we establish property owner notice, leverage burden-shifting rules, and enforce commercial safety standards:
Proving Constructive Notice
The “Should Have Known” Standard
Under New Jersey premises liability law, simply proving you fell on someone else’s property is not enough. To secure compensation, you must prove that the property owner had “actual or constructive notice” of the hazard.
- The Defense: Constructive notice means the dangerous condition (such as a spill, a worn carpet, or a broken step) existed for a sufficient period of time that a reasonably prudent property owner would have discovered and repaired it during a routine inspection. We meticulously audit store maintenance sweeps, look for dust or tracks in wet spills, and analyze local weather records to prove the owner had ample opportunity to clear the hazard.
The “Mode of Operation” Burden Shift
Bypassing the Notice Requirement
In standard slip-and-fall cases, the injured victim bears the heavy burden of proving notice. However, in certain self-service business environments, New Jersey courts apply the landmark “Mode of Operation” rule.
- The Defense: If a business employs a self-service model (such as open produce bins in grocery stores, self-service drink stations in restaurants, or open displays), it is foreseeable that merchandise will fall and create a hazard. Under this rule, the legal burden shifts to the business to prove they took reasonable, active precautions to prevent accidents, creating a powerful strategic advantage for your claim.
Commercial Snow & Ice Mandates
Sidewalk and Parking Lot Duties
Snow and ice slip-and-falls are heavily litigated in New Jersey, and the law draws a sharp, critical distinction between commercial and residential property owners.
- The Defense: Under New Jersey Supreme Court precedent, commercial landowners have a non-delegable duty to maintain public sidewalks abutting their property in a reasonably safe condition, which includes removing snow and ice. We audit local municipal snow-removal ordinances, retrieve high-resolution meteorological reports, and challenge lazy contractors who failed to apply salt or sand within a reasonable time after a storm.
Serious Injuries Resulting from Dangerous Property Conditions
Because of the sudden, high-velocity impact of a slip-and-fall on hard, slick, or uneven surfaces, premises liability accidents routinely result in serious, life-altering orthopedic and neurological trauma, including:
- Spinal Cord Trauma & Whiplash: Herniated, bulging, or ruptured discs, cervical whiplash, spinal fusions, and permanent nerve root compression.
- Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBIs): Concussions, post-concussion syndrome, cognitive deficits, and permanent neurological impairment from head-to-surface impact.
- Complex Orthopedic Fractures: Broken hips, shattered wrists, fractured collarbones, and ankle breaks requiring surgical hardware insertion.
- Joint Tears & Ligament Damage: Torn rotator cuffs, torn meniscus, and torn ACL/MCL ligaments requiring complex orthopedic reconstruction and physical therapy.
- Severe Soft Tissue Damage: Deep muscle contusions, chronic pain syndromes, and nerve damage from structural impact.
Your Step-by-Step Action Plan After a Slip, Trip, or Fall
- Report the Incident Immediately: Notify the property owner, store manager, or landlord. Ensure they complete a formal, written Incident Report, and request a copy for your records before leaving the premises.
- Document the Dangerous Condition: If you or a passenger are physically able, take immediate, high-contrast photos of the hazard that caused you to fall (e.g., the exact liquid spill, the ice patch, the missing handrail, the uneven sidewalk).
- Secure Eyewitness Contact Details: Ask for the names, phone numbers, and brief statements of any shoppers, pedestrians, or employees who witnessed your fall or saw the dangerous condition before the accident.
- Seek Immediate Emergency Medical Care: Go to the nearest emergency department or urgent care center (such as St. Joseph’s Level 1 Trauma Center in Paterson) to document your physical injuries and secure diagnostic imaging.
- Do NOT Speak to Insurance Adjusters: Do not give a recorded statement to the store’s risk-management investigators or sign any quick-settlement release forms. Speak with an experienced attorney first.
Rooted in Paterson to Serve Passaic, Bergen & Northern New Jersey
Our central office on Church Street in Paterson is located less than a 5-minute walk from the Passaic County Courthouse Complex, where all local Passaic County premises liability lawsuits are filed, litigated, and decided.
Because we maintain a fully staffed second office footprint in Ridgewood, we are uniquely positioned to represent Bergen County residents. We routinely represent slip-and-fall victims receiving critical trauma care at major regional healthcare hubs throughout Northern New Jersey, including:
- St. Joseph’s University Medical Center (Paterson – Passaic County’s premier Level 1 Trauma Center)
- The Valley Hospital (Paramus / Ridgewood – directly adjacent to our Bergen County office footprint)
- Hackensack University Medical Center (Hackensack – Bergen County’s leading trauma hub)
- Morristown Medical Center (Morristown – serving our Morris County accident clients)
- Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center (Livingston – serving our western Essex County clients)
- St. Joseph’s Wayne Medical Center (Wayne)
- Clifton Urgent Care & Local Medical Centers (Clifton)
- Holy Name Medical Center (Teaneck)
- Jersey City Medical Center (Jersey City – serving our Hudson County clients)
Frequently Asked Questions About NJ Premises Liability
Yes. New Jersey follows a comparative negligence statute (N.J.S.A. 2A:15-5.1). This means you can still recover financial compensation as long as your share of responsibility for the accident is 50% or less (meaning you were not more than half at fault). Your final financial recovery will simply be reduced by your percentage of fault. For example, if a jury awards $10,000 but finds you were 20% at fault because you were looking at your phone, your final award will be $8,000. If you are found to be 51% or more at fault, you are legally barred from recovering anything.
Yes, commercial property owners in New Jersey have a strict, non-delegable duty to maintain the public sidewalks abutting their property in a reasonably safe condition. This includes a legal obligation to conduct reasonable inspections, repair structural cracks or uneven concrete, and promptly remove snow and ice accumulation. In contrast, residential property owners in New Jersey generally do not owe a duty of care to pedestrians on public sidewalks, unless they actively created or exacerbated a dangerous condition.
Under New Jersey’s statute of limitations (N.J.S.A. 2A:14-2), you generally have two years from the date of the accident to file a formal lawsuit in court. If you fail to file within this two-year window, you will lose your right to seek compensation forever. However, if your fall occurred on government or public property (such as a public school walkway, a transit station, or a municipal park), you must file a formal Tort Claims Notice (Title 59 Notice) within 90 days of the incident to preserve your right to sue.
We represent injured clients strictly on a contingency fee basis under New Jersey Court Rule 1:21-7. This means we cover all upfront costs of your litigation—including hiring engineering and accident reconstruction experts, securing medical records, and paying court filing fees. You do not pay us a single dollar out-of-pocket, and we only collect a legal fee if we successfully win a financial settlement or jury verdict on your behalf.
Protect Your Recovery. Protect Your Future.
Do not allow a massive commercial property owner or their insurance carrier to delay your medical treatment, downplay your pain, or underpay your claim. Speak face-to-face with an experienced, award-winning Northern New Jersey trial attorney in our office or via a secure Zoom meeting. We will analyze your accident reports, review your medical files, and outline a clear, aggressive strategy to secure your future.
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