DEFECTIVE SIDEWALK LAWYER

DEFECTIVE SIDEWALK LAWYER

Sidewalk Accidents Accountability Cases

The busy streets of New York City are as typical as its high-rise buildings. It has more than 8.6 million citizens who zigzag across around 12,750 miles of long sidewalks everyday. Keeping these numbers in mind, sidewalk accidents are meant to happen. Esp. when they’re not carefully maintained.

This carelessness can result in dangerous circumstances like large cracks, irregular pavement, or slippery snowy surfaces that may cause serious injuries. In case you’ve ever been a victim, “Rozhik Law Firm PLLC” will help you with the legal procedure. We’ll make sure you receive the rightly deserved compensation for your loss.

Slip and fall cases – who’s responsible?

Most people think of sidewalks as public property and hence hold the city of New York accountable. It was valid until 2003, and the responsibility of keeping sidewalks secure was that of NYC. With an astounding number of potholes and defects in the city, it urged Bloomberg Administration. In 2003, they thus revised the New York City Administrative Code. To address the ones responsible for maintaining the sidewalks, they enacted two sections.

Section 7-210:

According to this, NYC is not responsible for maintaining all sidewalks anymore. Liability is now transferred to the neighboring property owners. However, there are some exceptions. If a building next to the accident is a home owned by one to three families, used only for a residence, the liability falls on the city.

Section 19-152:

This section outlines the specific duties of landlords to make sure there are no obstacles or any danger on the sidewalks. The responsibilities include constructing, installing, repairing, and repaving the sidewalks next to their building. Principal liability insurance assists the property owners by compensating these costs. Removing dirt, ice, snow, and other hazards is also their responsibility.

This section further discusses exceptions and other defects of sidewalk that should be addressed. Some sidewalk defects classifications include the ones mentioned below:

• A crack to the extent that piece(s) are loosened or removed.
• Inappropriate sloping which fails to drain water on the edge
• Missing sections of sidewalk

A sidewalk defect injury alone cannot ensure the victim an effective lawsuit versus the responsible party. As these types of accidents come under the law of NYC, it demands evidence that the responsible party was informed of the hazardous sidewalk conditions but still did not fix them. The victim is also to prove the defective sidewalk was the main factor that caused their accident.

Sidewalk defect – what is it?

It may involve a trip risk for pedestrians due to an elevated slab, bumpy slope, a crumpled sidewalk, inappropriate patchwork, or a chance of a hardware trip.

As stated by the NYC legislative code 19-152, the presence of even one of the factors mentioned below will qualify as a sidewalk defect:

• Sidewalk never constructed or any flag(s) missing.
• Any flag(s) broken to the point that its/their piece(s) are loosened or removed.
• A damaged flag having a major void under it or a wobbly flag that keeps moving (is unstable).
• A trip risk, where differences between adjacent flags’ vertical surfaces are equal to or more than half an inch.
• The uneven slope may mean (a) flag(s) not draining towards the edge and holding water, (b) flag(s) to replace to supply for sufficient drainage, or (c) a cross fall surpassing established standards.
• Hardware flaws, which may mean (a) hardware not drained within half an inch of sidewalk surface or (b) a cellar door which deflects more than an inch if walked on, is not slip-resistant or else in a harmful condition.
• Defects including structural reliability, which may mean a flag with a mutual joint which isn’t an extension joint, having a faulty flag, and a crack which meets the mutual joint plus one more joint.
• Refusal to DOT conditions for the construction of sidewalk.
• Patchwork, which may mean (a) (b) flag(s) constructed using asphalt or the rest of illegal materials that are non-concrete.

Sidewalk Accidents following ice or snow

While preparing the case, the main cause of such accidents plays a vital role. The “4-hour Rule” of New York City obliges neighboring landlords to get their sidewalks all cleared up following snowfall from 7 am to 9 pm. And if they fail to remove ice or snow within the commanded period and an accident occurs, they shall be held accountable. “Storm in progress” is yet another component of law. It is a common rule of law that prohibits the case to be filed if the accident happened during the snowfall.

Whether the Injuries caused by ice, snow, or any other factors are major or minor, victims must take care of all the required steps to decide if their case is legit.

Slip and fall injury victims

Most of the time, slip and fall victims feel ashamed and try getting up immediately. Such a reaction is normal. Nevertheless, call 911, and if you sense any pain, take medical assistance as soon as possible.

Don’t forget to mention the defect which caused the accident. Take a photo with your phone or ask a bystander to do you the favor. To support your claim, it is vital to collect the names and contacts of witnesses of the event.

The victim must never talk to an investigator or representative of an insurance company unless they have first referred to an applicant’s injury attorney.

Steps to follow post sidewalk injury

Since such accidents need detailed evidence, victims should present the case to a proficient attorney who would guide them concerning the potential lawsuit. We try our best to provide our clients with a liable party, be it an adjacent landlord or the New York City who’s responsible for the faults that produced their injuries.

Note: If New York City is responsible, they should file a “Notice of Claim” before 90 days since the accident, and the litigation should start within 15 months of the event.

City of New York’s sidewalk accountability lawyers

If you’re a victim of trip and fall injury to the NYC’s defective sidewallks, an experienced private injury lawyer is a must to help you in these difficult times.

We’ll carry out an urgent investigation as per your claim to gather essential evidence, like pictures of the defect, interviewing any witnesses, and collect all inspective and medical reports to accuse your request thoroughly.

Our team is exceptionally experienced, having represented sidewalk injury victims. We’ve helped compensate them for all the hurt and suffering, lost pays, medical costs, and more.