Slip and fall accidents with injuries on New York City sidewalks are one of the most common types of accidents. The injuries from sidewalk accidents can have a lasting effect on a person’s physical and mental health. It is important to know that property owners in New York City are required by law to maintain their properties in a safe condition and are liable for injuries that occur in and in front of their property. When a person has a slip and fall on a sidewalk, the result can be serious injury or even death. The sidewalk accident lawyers at Ross and Hill have a history of helping clients to understand their rights and to receive the compensation they need to recover from injuries caused by a property owner’s negligence. Common Causes of Sidewalk Accidents Handled by Ross and Hill Include:
Sidewalk accidents can be heartbreaking events that cause serious injuries like head trauma, facial trauma, back and neck injuries and hip fractures. These sidewalk injury accidents may often cause medical bills, loss of time from work and pain and suffering. The Law Firm of Ross and Hill, with offices in Brooklyn and Manhattan are experienced personal injury attorneys and have achieved over $100 million in verdicts and settlements for the seriously injured accident victims in the New York City Metropolitan area.
For decades Ross and Hill have litigated or settled cases for countless clients. With this litigation experience and extensive legal knowledge and resources, the firm can direct your personal injury accident claim to a successful conclusion. Using the latest techniques and qualified experts in construction and safety, your accident is investigated for the injury-causing defect to establish financial liability on the part of property owners, contractors and others. This includes researching if there are past violations on the property in question and tireless work on your behalf to earn you the most compensation you deserve for your injury. Our accomplished personal injury attorneys have the legal knowledge and resources to prove who was at fault and recover every dollar of compensation available to you.
Ross and Hill can help you receive the compensation for:
Only an experienced attorney will know how to evaluate and build your case for maximum compensation. Where necessary, Ross and Hill will get court orders to obtain leases, repair records and other evidence exposing all parties liable for the accident.
You may be running out of time to file a suit if your sidewalk accident-related serious physical injury has been caused by the negligence of a state, city, county, local municipality, or other government entity. You should act now and call Ross and Hill for a free consultation before it is too late. To preserve your right to bring a claim for compensation of your injuries, a Notice of Claim must be filed within 90 days of the date of the accident. We will investigate your sidewalk accident, gather the relevant evidence, and obtain & submit the appropriate documentation necessary to protect all of your personal injury rights and get you the compensation that you deserve.
At Ross and Hill, we are personal injury attorneys who can help you recover the compensation you deserve for your Sidewalk accident injuries. We have a long history of success in representing hardworking men and women.
Ross and Hill have achieved an outstanding reputation battling against insurance companies and other large adversaries in Court on behalf of the seriously injured. Representing individuals and families in their lawsuits for over 30 years, our accident lawyers are well informed and eager to listen and address all of your concerns and provide options. We passionately represent New Yorkers and their families in serious injury and wrongful death claims, we do not take shortcuts, we provide each sidewalk, pedestrian accident or any sidewalk and personal injury case with our knowledge, resources, experts, engineers, medical doctors and anything it takes to win your case.
There are different sources of evidence that can be used to prove your sidewalk accident claim:
Countless people slip and fall on sidewalks in NYC every year. A slip-and-fall accident may seem trivial, but according to the CDC, up to 20% of falls can lead to serious injuries, especially in older people. Unintentional falls are the number one cause of injury-related hospitalization in almost all age groups in NYC, according to NYC.gov.
If you slipped or tripped while walking in NYC, contact an experienced sidewalk accident lawyer and find out your legal options.
Per the New York City Administrative Code, business property owners are responsible for maintaining the sidewalks next to their premises. Specifically, sidewalks should be even and free of holes, cracks, debris, and other safety hazards. Thus, if you trip and fall because of unevenness, a collapsed sidewalk, or another sidewalk defect next to one of NYC’s 220,000 businesses, the owner may carry liability for your injuries.
In some accident cases, liability may fall on the City of New York if:
A seasoned personal injury attorney in New York City can assess your case and determine who’s responsible for compensating you.
The steps you take immediately after your sidewalk accident could influence the outcome of your claim. This is what you should do if you fall on the sidewalk in NYC.
While the law doesn’t require you to inform the police of your slip-and-fall incident, you should still report your accident. The police report is a valuable piece of evidence that could back your claim.
You should also send a written notice to the potentially liable party, like the owner or manager of the business next to which your sidewalk accident occurred.
At the very least, go in for a checkup. First, your injuries may be more serious than you think. Second, you need solid medical records to establish your claim. Save any hospitalization records, appointment logs, medical bills, and other relevant documentation.
Apart from medical records, save and organize any other evidence that could support your claim, including photos and video footage of the sidewalk, witness statements, and your own written records of the accident. Depending on your case, your sidewalk accident lawyer may also recommend hiring expert witnesses to source additional support for your claim.
After your accident, the potentially liable party or their insurer may contact you and propose a settlement. Please don’t enter any agreements before you talk to a lawyer. Usually, these rushed settlement offers aim to exploit your stressful situation and fall far below the real worth of your case.
We recommend limiting any communication with insurers to a minimum until you contact a reputable sidewalk accident lawyer who will let you know how to proceed with your claim.
It may be extremely tempting to share details of your accident on social media, but remember that anything you post online becomes public property. The at-fault party, their lawyer, or insurance investigators could use whatever you share against you, even if it’s something seemingly unrelated to the accident. We recommend steering clear of social media until your case settles.
Talking to a competent personal injury lawyer should be one of your first steps after a sidewalk accident in NYC. At Ross & Hill, we offer a free initial consultation that will help you know what you may expect and how to proceed with your claim. Consulting a lawyer is especially important if you suffered severe injuries, if it’s unclear who may be responsible for compensating you, or if the potentially liable party aggressively denies any responsibility.
Sidewalk accident injuries can lead to devastating long-term or permanent health consequences. An experienced sidewalk accident attorney can guide you through the steps of seeking compensation and fight hard to win a proper settlement on your behalf.
Did you slip or trip on a sidewalk in NYC? Our legal team at Ross & Hill can help protect your rights. Contact our law firm today to schedule a free consultation with a skilled sidewalk accident lawyer.
As sidewalk accident lawyers, we often hear questions about how common sidewalk accidents actually are in NYC. These accidents may be more prevalent than you think.
If you look through any list of the most walkable cities in the U.S., you’ll find New York City either at or at least near the top of it. According to a study conducted by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, the average New Yorker walks anywhere from 2 to 5 miles per day, which works out to be between 730 and 1,825 miles per year.
Because those in NYC do so much walking on the city’s 12,750 miles worth of sidewalks, sidewalk accidents are bound to happen regularly.
The New York City Department of Transportation is responsible for maintaining and repairing many of the sidewalks throughout the city. Home and business owners are also responsible for reporting issues with sidewalks and helping to maintain these sidewalks by keeping them free from hazards that could lead to sidewalk accidents.
But despite their efforts, the Office of the Comptroller for NYC reports that 2,350 sidewalk personal injury claims were filed in 2023. They made up 7 percent of the total personal injury claims filed in NYC.
An NYC sidewalk accident attorney from Ross and Hill can lend a hand if you suffered an injury while walking on a sidewalk in The Big Apple. Our New York City personal injury lawyers have experience filing sidewalk accident claims in NYC and can help you decide if you should take your personal injury case to court.
The Brain Trauma Foundation reports that about 2.5 million Americans sustain traumatic brain injuries, or TBIs, each year. Roughly 50,000 of these people die due to their TBIs, while about 80,000 of them deal with permanent disabilities for the remainder of their lives.
While you may be under the impression that many of these TBIs must be caused by motor vehicle accidents or assaults, almost one-third of them stem from falls. Some of these falls occur on sidewalks in large cities like New York City when people trip and hit their heads while falling to the pavement.
Head injuries are just one of the many types of injuries caused by NYC sidewalk accidents. Here are several other common injuries that may impact you in the aftermath of a sidewalk accident:
You might even sustain cuts and scrapes that could lead to infections if you aren’t careful. Hiring a sidewalk accident lawyer from The Bronx can enable you to potentially collect compensation.
They can work to prove negligence on the part of the city, as there are local laws surrounding city responsibilities for sidewalk maintenance. Alternatively, they can help you show that it should have been a property owner’s duty to maintain and repair the stretch of sidewalk that led to your injury.
According to the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma, about 3 million Americans sustain non-fatal injuries each year. This startling statistic shines a spotlight on why there are well over 50,000 personal injury lawyers working throughout the nation. These attorneys can help those who sustain injuries caused by someone else to collect compensation to cover the costs of expenses like medical bills, lost wages, and more.
If you decide to hire a sidewalk accident lawyer in NYC, you won’t have any shortage of options. But you shouldn’t ever simply choose the first option you can find after conducting a Google search for “NYC sidewalk accident lawyers near me.”
Instead, keep these tips in mind as you try to track down the right sidewalk accident attorney for the job:
A sidewalk accident lawyer from Ross and Hill will check all the right boxes for you and know the ins and outs of pedestrian safety in a big city like NYC.
A knowledgeable sidewalk accident attorney from Ross and Hill can investigate your case and figure out who was responsible for your injury. They can do this by evaluating the circumstances surrounding your case and gathering evidence throughout their investigations.
There are, however, things you can do to strengthen your case while working with a personal injury lawyer from Ross and Hill. Here are a few tips on how to do this:
Be sure to keep in touch with your personal injury lawyer from Ross and Hill about any updates to your case as well. The more information you provide to your attorney, the stronger your personal injury case should be.
While you have the right to take legal action following a sidewalk accident in NYC, you won’t retain this right for very long. Many sidewalk accident victims only have about 3 years to file personal injury claims before forfeiting their right to do it.
We can’t emphasize enough the importance of acting fast when you wish to file a personal injury claim following an NYC sidewalk accident. Outside of making it difficult to prove property owner or municipal responsibility for a sidewalk accident, waiting too long to file a claim can also impact your chances of being allowed to legally do it.
Hiring a New York sidewalk accident lawyer sooner rather than later enables you to explore all your available options. But if you have already surpassed the three-year deadline, you can still talk to an attorney about the possibility of qualifying for an extension.
Contact Ross and Hill if you have been injured because of dangerous conditions on a sidewalk, stairway or elsewhere and believe someone’s negligence caused the accident. We encourage you to contact our law firm now. Our best sidewalk accident lawyers will provide a free consultation and you pay nothing unless we win. We will even come to you or send a car to bring you to our Brooklyn or Manhattan office at no cost to you.
Call (646) 351-6222 for your free initial consultation. Se habla español.
If you sustain injuries in a sidewalk slip-and-fall accident, you may be able to collect compensation for your medical expenses, lost wages, reduced earning capacity, and other accident-related damages. Your settlement may also include compensation for noneconomic damages like pain and suffering, scarring and disfigurement, and loss of consortium.
Yes, you can still claim compensation for your injuries even if you were partly at fault for the accident, but your payout amount will drop in proportion to your share of responsibility. For example, if you’re 20% responsible and your case is worth $10,000, you’ll only be able to claim 80%, or $8000.
You must file your sidewalk accident claim within three years from the date of the accident, or you lose your right to seek compensation. However, the sooner you hire a sidewalk accident attorney and start working on your case, the better will be your chance of resolving your claim successfully.
Call a sidewalk accident lawyer as soon as possible after a slip- or trip-and-fall on a sidewalk, ideally before you talk to anyone else. An experienced personal injury attorney can collect relevant evidence, communicate with insurers and potentially liable parties, and help you navigate the claim process with minimal stress.
Hiring an NYC sidewalk accident lawyer shouldn’t cost you anything upfront. Many personal injury lawyers work on a contingency basis and will only collect compensation if they’re able to help you reach a settlement or procure a judgment.
Bring any paperwork related to your sidewalk accident case when you meet with an attorney for the first time. Medical documents, police reports, and any photographs or videos you were able to capture can all help your lawyer piece together their investigation.
Some sidewalk accident cases only take a few months, while others can last for several years. The length of your sidewalk accident case will depend on the circumstances surrounding your accident in addition to the severity of your injuries. But working with an experienced sidewalk accident lawyer may streamline the process.
