Who is Responsible If You Fall in New York City?
A slip and fall or trip and fall accident can occur anywhere at any time of the year. You may be walking and trip over a cracked sidewalk, fall on broken subway stairs, slip on ice in front of a store, fall over debris, or encounter a construction area that is not clearly marked. As of 2019, falls were the leading cause of non-fatal injuries and the second highest cause of fatal injuries according to the National Safety Council.
Given how common this type of accident is, determining who is liable for your injury can be surprisingly difficult as where and how the accident occurred will determine who is responsible and what kind of compensation you can recover.
Sidewalk accidents make up a large majority of slip/trip and fall cases. In 2003, the City of New York shifted the responsibility of maintaining sidewalks in certain circumstances to property owners and, therefore, the liability as well[i]. The City is still responsible for any slip/trip and falls on its property or in city-owned buildings.
No matter where the injury occurred, there are certain steps that you need to take.
Call the police and seek medical attention, whether you are taken by ambulance or driven by someone to a hospital, it is important to make sure the accident is documented. You want your report to include the location, time, and condition of the accident scene.
Take photos of the area where the accident occurred. If you are unable to do so because of your injuries, ask someone else to take the photographs for you.
Speak to any witnesses who may have seen your accident occur. If you can, get their contact information so that the police or your attorney can speak with them.
Take note of the defect (crack, broken piece, etc.) that caused you to fall. Certain details, such as paint on a broken edge, can indicate that the people maintaining the sidewalk/stairs knew about the issue but failed to repair it.
It’s important to reach out to an attorney as soon as possible after your fall as there is a statute of limitations on filing a claim against a property owner and/or the City. Recovery for damages for a personal injury against a property owner must be commenced within three years2, and within one year and ninety days against the city3. Additionally, notices of claim against the municipalities and city agencies such as New York City schools and hospitals and the MTA must be filed within ninety days of the accident4.
Given these varied, and often short time frames, your best course of action after a slip/trip and fall accident is to contact an attorney immediately. We have more than two decades of experience in personal injury law and we will help guide you through the process of filing a claim and getting compensation for your injuries.
[i] New York City Administrative Code, Section 7-210
2 New York Civil Practice Law and Rule, Section 214
3 New York Civil Practice Law and Rule, Section 217-A
4 General Municipal Law 50-e