Expert Witness in Premises Liability
Bernstein & Associates, Architects, through its principal William N. Bernstein, AIA, has provided expert witness services for premises liability in matters involving the design and construction of buildings and the built environment. Attorneys litigating cases that involve slip-and-fall incidents, trip-and-fall incidents, stair and ramp incidents, inadequate lighting, lack of guardrails or handrails, code violations, and other claims of unsafe building conditions require an expert witness architect who understands both the applicable building codes and standards and the practical realities of how those requirements are applied in the design, construction, and maintenance of real buildings.
About Premises Liability
Premises liability is the area of law under which owners, occupiers, managers, and others responsible for a property may be held liable for injuries suffered by persons on the property as a result of unsafe or defective conditions. In the context of design and construction, premises liability claims commonly involve allegations that a building or site element — a stair, ramp, walkway, floor, parking lot, handrail, guardrail, door, window, light fixture, or other component — was designed, constructed, or maintained in a manner that created a foreseeable hazard. The technical standards governing these elements include the applicable building code (for example, in New York City, the New York City Building Code), the International Building Code, ICC A117.1, NFPA 101 Life Safety Code, ASTM standards (including those addressing walkway surfaces and slip resistance), and industry standards of care for design and construction. Responsibility for compliance with these standards is shared, in different ways, among the owner, the design professional, the contractor, and the party responsible for ongoing maintenance, and disputes commonly arise when constructed or maintained conditions do not meet the applicable standards, when alterations introduced new hazards, or when warnings and signage were inadequate.
Expert Witness Services Related to Premises Liability
Expert witness services in premises liability matters typically include a careful review of the project documents (drawings, specifications, permits, and as-built conditions), a site survey to measure and document the conditions at the location of the incident, comparison of those conditions against the applicable building codes, life safety codes, and industry standards, review of maintenance and inspection records, and the preparation of clear, well-supported opinions regarding the cause of the unsafe condition, the responsibility of the various parties, and the standard of care applicable to the design, construction, and maintenance of the element at issue. An effective premises liability expert witness must be able to explain technical requirements — dimensions, slopes, tread and riser geometry, slip resistance, lighting levels, and clearances — in plain language to judges, juries, arbitrators, and mediators, and must have the credentials, written record, and courtroom-ready communication skills to render credible opinions.
Mr. Bernstein is a Yale-trained, NCARB-certified, LEED-accredited, registered architect. He has expertise in architectural design, engineering design, and construction as the founder/owner of an architectural firm, Bernstein & Associates, Architects, (1990-present) and as the founder/owner of a construction project management firm, Empire Projects, Inc. (2003-Present). He has been the expert witness (as of May 2026) on (40) cases involving design and construction (2006-present) across the United States and Internationally.
Contact
Please contact Bernstein & Associates, for expert witness services related to premises liability.