Can You Sue If You Fall on Private Property in NY?

Premises liability is the legal theory. Under New York law, private property owners owe a duty of reasonable care to lawful visitors — including guests, customers, and delivery personnel. If the owner created a hazardous condition, had actual notice of it, or should have discovered it through reasonable inspection, they can be held liable for injuries caused by that condition.

Less than you might expect. New York abolished the old invitee/licensee/trespasser categories in Basso v. Miller (1976) — property owners now owe a single standard of “reasonable care under the circumstances” to anyone lawfully on the property, whether they're a customer, a social guest, or a delivery person. Your status can still be one factor a court weighs in deciding what “reasonable” required in your specific situation, but it no longer sets a separate, lower legal duty the way it once did. Even trespassers can't be willfully or recklessly harmed, though a property owner's proactive duty toward them remains more limited.

New York's statute of limitations for personal injury claims is three years from the date of the fall (CPLR §214). Missing this deadline almost always bars your claim permanently. It is critical to preserve evidence, photograph the scene, and consult an attorney as soon as possible after the accident.

You must establish four elements: (1) the property owner owed you a duty of care; (2) the owner breached that duty by allowing a dangerous condition to exist; (3) the dangerous condition caused your fall and injuries; and (4) you suffered actual damages. A key question in NY cases is whether the owner had notice of the hazard — either because they created it, were told about it, or it existed long enough that they should have found it.