Sidewalk Trip & Fall

Countless numbers of people walk on New York City sidewalks on a daily basis.  Among the individuals using New York City sidewalks are the young, the old and the disabled. As such, it is critical that our sidewalks are maintained in a safe condition.

New York City Administrative Code 7-210 (effective September 14, 2003) makes a property owner liable for injuries caused by defective conditions on the abutting sidewalk.  The relevant sections of 7-210 provide in pertinent part that:

“It shall be the duty of the owner of real property abutting any sidewalk, including, but not limited to, the intersection quadrant for corner property, to maintain such sidewalk in a reasonably safe condition.”

However, an exception applies for one, two or three family homes that are owner occupied and used for residential purposes. In these situations, the City of New York will remain liable for accidents due to dangerous sidewalk conditions.  Additionally, Courts have held that certain sidewalk conditions remain the responsibility of the City of New York, including defects contained in tree wells, defects located on sidewalk curbs, defects located on sidewalk pedestrian ramps, defects involving sidewalk signs or signposts, defects involving bus stops or bus shelters and defects involving sidewalk grates (unless specifically owned, operated, controlled and maintained by a separate entity such as Con Edison).

If you have been involved in a trip/slip and fall accident as a result of a dangerous sidewalk condition, it is important to take photographs of the sidewalk as doing so can help demonstrate the existence of a defective condition.  Typical sidewalk defects include raised sidewalk flags, holes/depressions, cracks, ruts and combinations thereof.

If you, a loved one or a member of your community has been injured due to a dangerous condition on a sidewalk, please do not hesitate to call FARELLA MASCOLO PLLC at 212-287-1277 for a free consultation.

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