If you or someone you love slipped and fell on a New York City sidewalk, you could be entitled to seek compensation. If you fell because of a cracked, wet, icy, or otherwise defective sidewalk, the nearby business owner might be responsible for their negligence and your subsequent injuries. The damages you can recover include medical bills, income loss, and pain and suffering.
If we represent you, we can build your case for compensation by identifying the owner of the property immediately adjacent to your fall. Next, we can establish whether the city or the building owners are responsible for maintaining that sidewalk. Then, we can work to prove your injury could have been avoided if the property had been well-maintained. Finally, we can show the value of your injuries and fight for the best possible outcome.
New York Property Owners Are Obligated to Maintain Sidewalks
When you slip, trip, or fall on a sidewalk in New York, one of the first questions you want answered is who bears responsibility for your resulting injuries and their expenses. New York is a metropolis with more than 12,000 miles of sidewalks, according to NYC Department of Transportation (NYC DOT) statistics. With all that mileage, it can be hard to know who owns the piece of property where you fell.
According to New York City Administrative Code § 7-210, the owner of the property that abuts, or touches, the sidewalk is required to maintain it in a safe and undamaged manner. Their responsibilities can include sweeping up debris, shoveling and putting down salt after a snowfall, or repairing sidewalk cracks. If failure to perform one of these or any other protective measures caused your fall, you could be entitled to compensation.
Injuries You Can Sustain in a Fall
Several types of injuries can result from a fall. The impact of the fall, attempting to brace yourself during a fall, and falling onto a blunt or sharp object can all result in injury. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the most common fall injuries include:
- Broken limbs
- Wrist fractures
- Ankle fractures
- Hip fractures
- Head injuries
Even though falling on a sidewalk is a same-level fall, it can still leave you with severe, disabling, and costly injuries. CDC statistics from 2015 cite an annual cost of $50 billion related to falls. If our team represents you, we can work to recover the financial expenses and losses related to your fall.
Injury Compensation You Can Request
Most personal injury cases like yours are settled out of court. If we represent you, our team works hard to assign an accurate value to your case and to ensure it is not undervalued or underpaid. As part of the settlement process, we can request compensation for your:
- Past and future medical bills
- Past and future income loss
- Injury-related travel expenses
- Physical disability or impairment
- Physical pain and suffering
- Mental distress and emotional trauma
We can prove the value of your economic injuries with your medical records, medical bills, and recent pay stubs. We can prove the value of your non-economic damages by using your prognosis and expert testimony to prove the extent of your injuries. Our goal is to ensure your case is resolved with a favorable financial settlement.
How We Can Handle Your Injury Case
If we manage your case, we handle negotiations with the at-fault party and their insurer for you. We can field settlement offers and advise you in making a well-informed decision. Before we do that, we take these steps on your behalf:
- Assign a value to your case
- Prove the property owners’ negligence
- Work closely with your health care team
- Identify and consult expert witnesses
- Handle all insurance company communication
Our client care philosophy means we thoroughly prepare your case with all relevant evidence. It also means we put our familiarity with the law to work for you and fight for the compensation you deserve.
Previous Client Praise and Testimonials
If you choose our firm, you choose to build a well-prepared case with a clearly defined goal. You also choose supportive, responsive communication in a client-focused atmosphere. Our previous clients say:
- “From the beginning, as soon as Steve Wagner took my case, he was very attentive and always kept me informed step by step on how my case was going. He answered all my questions and concerns…I would recommend this firm and especially Steve Wagner to anyone!” — A.
- “Your representation of my case was superb from beginning to end. I am in utter amazement how you navigated my very difficult case with such ease. You have given me…a great deal of respect and results that far exceeded my expectations. I thank you from the bottom of my heart.” — Dr. S
- “I want to say, thank you for being so patient, encouraging, an ear to listen to and your professionalism in all aspects…[they] didn’t just work so hard for me, but their personalities were so comforting in a time of sadness. I thank all of my dream team.” — E.M.
Personal care, attention, and support are the hallmarks of our outstanding client experience. If you choose our legal team to represent you, our entire firm goes to bat for you.
Let Us Review Your Slip and Fall Case Today
If you or someone you love was injured in a fall on a sidewalk, we can work to find out if the building owner is responsible for maintaining the sidewalk. If their negligence was the cause of your accident, you can collect financial compensation.
Complete our short contact form or call (212) 986-7353 to reach one of our Wingate, Russotti, Shapiro, Moses & Halperin, LLP team members today.