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Practice Areas / Premises Liability

Sidewalk Defect Injuries in New York.

New York City places the responsibility for sidewalk maintenance on adjacent property owners — not the city. A cracked slab, raised edge, or sunken pavement that causes a fall can make the building owner directly liable for your injuries. These cases move fast and deadlines are strict, especially when a city agency is involved. We act quickly to preserve evidence and protect your right to recover.

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01 — Basso v. Miller

A single duty of reasonable care.

Under Basso v. Miller, 40 N.Y.2d 233 (1976), every property owner in New York owes a single duty of reasonable care under the circumstances to everyone who lawfully enters the property — invited customer, tenant, friend, delivery worker, repair contractor. The old categories that protected landowners from liability to certain visitors were abandoned. The standard is uniform: reasonable care.
To recover, you generally have to prove one of three things:
1 — Owner Created the Condition
The property owner (or their employee/agent) created the dangerous condition that caused your fall.
2 — Actual Notice
The owner knew about the condition and failed to fix it.
3 — Constructive Notice
The condition existed long enough that a reasonable owner exercising reasonable care would have discovered and fixed it. This is where most cases live or die.
02 — Constructive Notice

Where the case usually turns.

A puddle that formed thirty seconds before you slipped is generally not a winning case. A puddle that had been on the floor for two hours, with visible foot-traffic marks running through it, often is. The evidence that wins these cases is specific:
  • Surveillance footage — from the property — preserved before the owner has the chance to overwrite it.
  • Maintenance logs and inspection schedules — produced in discovery, often showing gaps that contradict later testimony.
  • Employee testimony — from staff on the floor at the time.
  • Photographs — of the condition immediately after the fall.
  • Prior complaints — about the same condition or area.
03 — Cases We Take

Common scenarios.

Slip & Fall
Wet floors, spilled liquids
Sidewalk Defect
NYC Admin Code §7-210
Stairway Fall
Defective steps, missing rails
NYC Snow & Ice
§7-210 + storm-in-progress
Landlord Liability
Building owner negligence
NYCHA Premises
90-day Notice of Claim
04 — NYC Special Rules

Two rules that decide most NYC premises cases.

NYC SIDEWALKS — Admin Code §7-210
If you fell on a NYC sidewalk, the right defendant is usually NOT the City. Under NYC Admin Code §7-210, the property owner adjacent to the sidewalk is responsible — except for 1-, 2-, and 3-family residential properties used exclusively for residential purposes, where the City retains responsibility. Naming the City wrongly is the most common reason these cases get dismissed.
NYCHA / PUBLIC PREMISES — 90-day Notice of Claim
If you were injured in a NYCHA building, city hospital, public school, or any other premises owned or operated by a New York public entity, you have 90 days from the date of injury to file a Notice of Claim under General Municipal Law §50-e. Miss the 90 days and you generally lose the right to sue at all.
STORM-IN-PROGRESS DOCTRINE
NY courts generally do not require a property owner to clear snow or ice while precipitation is actively falling. The owner gets a reasonable amount of time after the storm ends before liability attaches. The question of when a storm has “ended” — and what a reasonable cleanup window looks like — is heavily litigated.

05 — How We Work

No fee unless we recover.

01
Free consultation

In person at 40 Wall Street, by phone, by video, or at your hospital bed. Same day for new matters.

02
Contingency fee

Percentage of recovery. No upfront costs. Disclosed in writing.

03
Direct attorney access

Bob personally represents Amparo’s clients.

04
Trilingual

English · Español · فارسی — directly by the principals.

06 — FAQ

Questions we hear most.

Three years from the fall under CPLR §214, for most private-property cases. If a public entity is involved (NYC, NYCHA, MTA), you have 90 days to file a Notice of Claim under GML §50-e. The shorter deadline is the one that catches people.
Most premises cases do not have eyewitnesses to the fall itself. What matters is the evidence of the condition — surveillance footage, maintenance records, photographs taken after the fall, prior complaints.
That is almost always the defense position. The case is built on what the evidence shows. Contemporaneous documentation — your medical records, incident report, photographs — outweighs after-the-fact testimony.
Yes, in most cases. New York is a pure comparative-fault state (CPLR §1411). Intoxication may reduce your recovery share but does not bar the case.
Built to protect.

Talk to Bob about your case.

Free, confidential consultation. English · Español · فارسی. No fee unless we recover.

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Call (646) 567-2726