Fire Island Beach Injury Lawyer

Fire Island Beach is a great place to get away from the city. But whether you are a local or a tourist, visiting the beach could result in a serious injury. If you or a loved one was injured while visiting Fire Island Beach, you may be entitled to compensation for your medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering. There are certain steps you must take to preserve your legal right to compensation. Additionally, you may have a very short time to complete these steps.

For help preserving your legal rights to compensation, contact a Fire Island Beach injury lawyer at Goldstein & Bashner as soon as possible. An experienced injury attorney can help protect your rights and ensure that you know what to expect rhoughout the entirety of the legal process.

Most Common Accidents at Fire Island Beach

Accidents and injuries can happen anywhere at any time at Fire Island Beach. Some of the most common accidents we have seen include:

Falling Accidents: Falls from great heights and even simple slip and fall accidents can result in serious injuries including broken bones and even brain damage. Falling accidents at Fire Island Beach could result from:

  • Puddles of standing water
  • Ice
  • Broken stairs or handrails
  • Potholes or cracks in pavement or sidewalks
  • Debris such as trash, large stones, or driftwood left in walkways

Equipment Accidents: If equipment in public places is defective or poorly maintained, innocent people can get hurt.

Common examples of possibly dangerous equipment at Fire Island Beach that warrant contact with a Fire Island injury lawyer include:

  • Picnic tables
  • Playground equipment
  • Escalators
  • Elevators
  • Boat docks
  • Piers
  • Even public-use ferries

If a property owner failed to keep these and other types of equipment in a safe condition, it may be liable for any resulting injuries.

Parking Lot Accidents: Although cars are not allowed in all areas of Fire Island, there is still a possibility of parking lot accidents and other car-related accidents, especially in areas of the island heavily visited by tourists. Whether the victim is a pedestrian, a bicyclist, or another driver, if a negligent driver caused your injury, you are entitled to compensation with the help of a Fire Island personal injury attorney.

Assault: In any public place, there is a risk of assault. However, property owners have certain duties to keep their property reasonably safe by providing security and proper lighting. If you were mugged or assaulted at Fire Island Beach, the property owner could be partially responsible.

Negligent Parties

Liability for any accident at Fire Island Beach depends largely on the location of the accident. In most cases of dangerous conditions, the property owner where the accident occurred will most likely be responsible for the accident.

However, other parties who have some amount of control over the existence of the dangerous conditions on the property could also be liable. In some cases, more than one person could be responsible for your injuries.

Because Fire Island has multiple property owners, some private and some government, there are many potentially liable defendants. Government entities own parts of Fire Island located in the Fire Island National Seashore and the Robert Moses State Park. Private property owners have control over homes, restaurants, stores, and more.

Our Fire Island injury attorneys can help you determine who was responsible for the dangerous condition at Fire Island Beach and, as a result, liable for your injury. It is important that you speak with one of our attorneys before filing a claim because if you file a claim against the wrong party, you could lose your right to file another claim against the correct party and lose you chance for compensation.

Proving Liability and Causation

Once you have determined who is responsible for your accident at Fire Island Beach, you must prove it was negligent. To do this, collect the following pieces of evidence:

  • Eyewitness testimony from people who saw the accident
  • Photographs of the dangerous condition that caused your accident
  • Copies of police reports or incident reports
  • Medical reports detailing the injuries that you sustained in the accident
  • Surveillance footage from nearby stores or traffic cameras

A Fire Island personal injury lawyer will collect this and more to support your claim for compensation.

Special Steps if the Defendant is a Government Entity

If a government entity is responsible for the dangerous condition that caused your accident, you have only a limited amount of time to file a claim against them. In New York, you must file a Notice of Claim against the government within 90 days after the time of the injury. If you miss this 90-day deadline, you will lose your right to compensation.

Because of this short deadline, it is very important that you contact our team as soon as possible after an accident. The sooner you contact us, the better your chances of success will be.

Contacting a Fire Island Accident Attorney

If you or a loved one was injured while visiting Fire Island Beach in New York, contact the Fire Island injury attorneys of Goldstein & Bashner for help filing a claim for compensation. We will assist you with collecting evidence, determining who may have been at fault for your accident, and building a strong argument for your case.

Remember, in certain cases, you may have a limited time to bring a claim for recovery. Do not wait until the last minute to contact our team.

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