Staten Island Slip and Fall Lawyer

You generally need to show a dangerous condition; that the defendant owned, occupied or controlled the spot (for most Staten Island sidewalks, the owner of the property next to it); that it created the condition or knew about it, or that the condition was visible and there long enough to be found and fixed; and that it caused your injury. Photos, video, incident reports, repair records and medical records are the usual proof.

Against a private owner, landlord or business, a lawsuit generally must be started within three years. For an ordinary personal-injury claim against the City, a notice of claim is filed with the NYC Comptroller within 90 days and a lawsuit generally follows within one year and 90 days. NYCHA and transit authorities have their own notice rules, a child’s time to sue can be extended though notice deadlines still matter, and a death claim follows separate timing.

Store and restaurant owners and tenants, landlords and co-op or condo boards, owners of most buildings for the sidewalk in front of them, contractors who worked on a walkway, and in some cases the City, NYCHA or a transit authority. Liability usually follows control of the spot, and more than one party can share it.

It depends on the injury, treatment, lost earnings, how the injury affects daily life, the proof that the defendant was responsible, any share of fault, and available insurance. We do not quote values before reviewing the records. The firm’s published premises results are listed on this page exactly as recorded.

Get medical care first (911 in an emergency). If you can do so safely, photograph the hazard and the area, note the exact address or nearest house number, ask for an incident report and witness names, and keep your shoes and clothing. Do not sign releases or give recorded statements to an insurer before getting advice. If the City may be responsible, the 90-day notice clock is already running.

Usually the claim is against the owner of the property next to the sidewalk, who must keep it reasonably safe, including clearing snow and ice. That rule does not apply to a one-, two- or three-family home that is owner occupied in whole or in part and used exclusively for residential purposes. For those sidewalks the City may be responsible, but generally only if it had prior written notice of the defect, and a notice of claim goes to the Comptroller within 90 days. There is no minimum defect size.

The owner or tenant can be responsible if it created the hazard, knew about it, or should have found it through reasonable inspection, such as a spill left long enough to be seen. General awareness that floors get wet in bad weather is not, by itself, notice of the specific puddle. Ask for an incident report and request the store’s video in writing quickly.

Landlords and boards must keep common areas such as lobbies, stairs, halls and walkways reasonably safe, and owners of most apartment buildings answer for the sidewalk in front. A claim generally requires that they created the hazard or had notice of it. A NYCHA development has its own notice-of-claim rule.

Depending on the case, medical costs, lost earnings, pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of life, and in serious cases future care and lost earning capacity. A spouse may have a related claim. The amount depends on the evidence, not on a formula.

Yes, generally. In a fall case your share of fault reduces the damages in proportion; it does not bar the claim. The 2026 change that can bar recovery applies to no-fault motor-vehicle injury actions, not to falls on property. An owner may argue the hazard was open and obvious. A genuinely open and obvious hazard may remove the duty to warn, but it does not by itself remove the duty to keep the property reasonably safe; a condition that is open and obvious and not inherently dangerous may result in no liability.

It varies with the injury, how long treatment lasts, whether the owner disputes notice, and whether a lawsuit is needed. A case against the City starts with the notice of claim and a possible examination before suit. Once a lawsuit is filed, in Supreme Court, Richmond County or another proper county, document exchange, depositions and medical examinations come before any trial, and many cases resolve along the way.