If I’m Injured While Doing A Recreational Activity, Can I Sue The Property Owner?

by Friedman & Ranzenhofer, PC on July 28, 2015

in Buffalo Injury Questions and Answers

All property owners in the Buffalo area are required to maintain their property in a reasonably safe condition.

If they fail to do so, they usually may be held liable if someone suffers a personal injury on their property.

However, if the injured person was using another person’s property for an outdoor recreational activity such as hiking, hunting, boating, bike riding or skiing, there are exceptions to this general rule.

While property owners are required to keep their property safe, New York State law provides an exception to this requirement when the injured person was involved in an outdoor recreational activity.

The list of activities that fall under this exception is very extensive.

It includes most common outdoor recreational activities such as fishing, hunting, hiking, sledding, horseback riding, skiing, bike riding, boating and riding a snowmobile.

Because a property owner is not required to keep his or her property safe for these activities, there may be no basis for a personal injury lawsuit against the landowner when someone performing one of these activities is injured.

If you are injured while doing an outdoor recreational activity, however, it may still be helpful to consult with an experienced personal injury attorney.

This is because there are certain situations where a person injured during a recreational activity can still sue the property owner.

If the injured person was paying the property owner to use the property or the property owner was aware of a specific hazard but did not provide any warning about it, for example, it may still be possible to pursue damages in a personal injury case.

If you were injured on someone else’s property, it is important to speak with someone who understands your legal rights.

Call us at 716-631-9999 for a free consultation.

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