Whether you’re traveling out of JFK, LaGuardia, or another airport in New York, you hope everything goes smoothly. From catching a flight to checking or collecting baggage, you expect the airport to take steps to ensure you can safely navigate the premises.
Unfortunately, things can go wrong at airports, and more so than a missed flight or lost luggage. Accidents like a trip and fall can happen and sometimes more than your pride is injured. Navigating an airport trip and fall claim can be complicated, but thankfully, this guide is here to help.
Common Causes of Airport Trip and Fall Accidents
Sometimes, passengers are responsible for their trip and fall accidents. They’re busy rushing around trying to catch a flight and aren’t paying attention to where they’re going.
Passengers can easily trip over luggage left in a walkway. Yes, some passengers drop their bags just about anywhere while they’re checking in with the ticketing agent.
If you trip and fall over another passenger’s luggage does this make them liable for your injuries? Sometimes, the answer is yes, and in other situations, your inattention is the primary cause.
Let’s take a look at some other common reasons airport visitors trip and fall:
- Handrails that are broken or missing
- Poor lighting in terminals, parking garages, and walkways
- Debris like trash and luggage
- Uneven walkways and other surfaces
- Damaged stairways and steps
- Wet, slippery floors
- Torn and missing sections of carpeting
- Loose wiring in walkways. This can also include cables left lying on the floor
Don’t forget, you can trip and fall on a boarding ramp, in a passenger waiting area in front of an airport or the parking garage. Not all accidents happen inside an airport.
Who Can Be Held Liable for Your Airport Trip and Fall Accident
After suffering an injury after a trip and fall, your first instinct may be to blame the airport. After all, isn’t the airport solely responsible for providing a safe environment for visitors? While the airport as an entity has an obligation to help ensure everyone’s safety, it’s not always the liable party.
Think of an airport as a large corporation with a lot of moving parts: airports typically with third-party vendors like restaurants and maintenance companies. Each of these third-party vendors also has an obligation to visitors. For example, if you trip and fall over a chair in a restaurant, the airport may be exempt from your accident claim.
Who else may be liable for your airport accident? Along with restaurants and maintenance companies, the individual airline, a transportation provider, or a retailer may be responsible for covering any damages you sustain in a trip and fall accident. To put it in simple terms. Where the accident occurs plays a role in determining liability.
Steps to Take After an Airport Trip and Fall Accident
If you’re injured after tripping and falling in a New York airport, there are a few steps you should take. What you do following the accident can impact your injury claim.
Report the Accident
If the accident occurs on the airplane, you’ll report the incident to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). This also applies if you witness an accident onboard the aircraft. If you’re injured in a trip and fall accident in the airport or its grounds, you’ll file a report with personnel. Chances are, this will be either the airport manager or the police.
Filing an accident report is relatively easy. If you’re familiar with a vehicle accident report you shouldn’t have any difficulty. The questions are pretty basic, even those inquiring about the incident. You’ll need a copy of the report if you’re planning on filing a claim for damages. The report is proof the incident occurred.
Seek Immediate Medical Attention
You may not want to delay your trip, but you should seek immediate medical attention. This isn’t only to help support your injury claim but also for your well-being. You may only feel a little banged up but some injuries take a while to develop symptoms.
The last thing you want is to end up in the hospital for your trip and fall injuries while you’re on vacation. Take care of your health first after an airport accident and then go on your trip.
Determine the Cause of Your Accident
Yes, you know your injuries are from your trip and fall, and you can even pinpoint precisely where it occurred in the airport—this is a start, but you must also determine the cause. For example, did you trip over a piece of loose carpeting or fall on a broken step?
Determining the accident’s cause helps establish liability. If loose carpeting is the cause, the maintenance company may be the liable party. If you tripped over a dining chair, you may turn to the restaurant’s insurance to cover your damages.
Collect Evidence
If your injuries are severe, don’t worry about gathering evidence. Just focus on recovering from your injuries. However, if possible go ahead and start documenting the accident scene. Grab your cell phone and take pictures of the area where the accident occurred. Don’t forget to take pictures of what caused your trip and fall.
Chances are, other airport visitors witnessed your accident. Get their contact information but don’t discuss the accident. Anything you say can be used by the defendant’s insurance company to try and reduce the value of your accident claim.
Don’t forget to write down any expenses like a missed flight. You can usually add this to your list of recoverable damages.
Pay Attention to the Statute of Limitations
Unlike most other types of personal injury cases, you don’t have two years to file a claim. Airports are federal property and this shortens the statute of limitations to 90 days. You typically only have three months to file a claim after an airport trip and fall accident.
Protecting Your Rights After an Airport Trip and Fall Accident
If you’re injured in an airport trip and fall accident, navigating the claim process can be complex. You need to determine liability and act quickly since the statute of limitations is only 90 days.
To help guarantee that your claim moves smoothly within this timeframe, consult with an experienced injury attorney. An attorney can help you gather necessary evidence, establish liability, and secure the compensation you deserve.
