New York’s personal injury law firm
Click For Your Free ConsulationPosted in Personal Injury on August 16, 2024
Manhattan’s waterfronts are typically fun recreational areas where visitors and residents of the Big Apple can enjoy food, shopping, outdoor activities, and a beautiful view. Unfortunately, they are often the sites of a range of accidents, many of which lead to serious personal injuries.
In some cases, these injuries can land people in the hospital and stuck with pain and medical bills. If you’re headed out to enjoy the day on one of the city’s piers, it’s important to be aware of potential hazards so you can properly assess the risk level of the activities you engage in.
Many people who visit Manhattan’s waterfronts complain about the city’s lack of upkeep on pedestrian pathways. A quick Google search will yield several complaints about trips and falls on uneven planks or pieces sticking up throughout the wooden parts of the path on the Hudson River Waterfront walkway.
These issues can cause people to slip and fall, risking the possibility of injuring their wrists, shoulders, neck, or head. Depending on the individual’s age or other underlying health concerns they may have, injuries like these can be life-altering.
Both visitors and residents of Manhattan enjoy exercising and taking leisurely strolls along the waterfront, but unscrupulous criminals looking for easy targets are aware of that. These bad actors sometimes prey on those just trying to enjoy their lives in what is supposed to be a fun and relaxing space.
In recent years, multiple women have been sexually assaulted in Riverside Park, not only causing physical ailments but deep psychological and emotional pain as well. These are harrowing incidents that the residents of the Upper West Side hardly expect to happen in their upscale and prominent neighborhood.
There have been a number of significant ferry accidents along Manhattan’s most prominent waterways in recent years. One of the most notable was the New York Water Taxi crash that occurred in May of 2018. More than a dozen people fell and were injured (and some were hospitalized) after the ferry crashed into a piece of wood.
Unfortunately, injuries like these are unavoidable for passengers, as they rely on the ferry operators to keep them safe. Compounding the problem for those who needed treatment for their injuries is their medical bills. These can rise in price at an alarming rate, negatively impacting anyone’s financial outlook.
In 2021, the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation indicated that there were 4,088 registered boats in New York County, many of which were recreational. Typically, Manhattan experiences more than a dozen boating accidents resulting in injuries, with the East, Harlem, and Hudson Rivers being the most common sites.
While many recreational boating accidents are often the result of an operator’s negligence or inexperience, others occur because of the negligence of other boaters on the water. Boat accidents and injuries may even happen because of mechanical failures, which can be especially scary for passengers because of how suddenly they occur.
The good news is that New York City does have laws in place to protect its visitors and citizens in the case of a waterfront accident. But the bad news is that these laws can be difficult to understand.
For example, you may not know whether a waterfront property is owned by a private entity or the city itself. You also may be wondering how to prove the accident was someone else’s fault and not your own.
Whatever your issue, it’s best to contact a Manhattan personal injury attorney right away to help you solve it. Not only will they be able to help you understand whether you actually have a case, but they’ll assist you in gathering evidence and understanding your options for recovering damages.
If you need legal assistance, contact the New York City personal injury lawyers at Law Offices of Jay S. Knispel Personal Injury Lawyers at your nearest location to schedule a free consultation.
We have two convenient locations in New York:
Law Offices of Jay S. Knispel Personal Injury Lawyers – New York City Office
450 7th Ave #1605
New York, NY 10123
(212) 564-2800
Law Offices of Jay S. Knispel Personal Injury Lawyers – Brooklyn Office
26 Court St Suite 2511
Brooklyn, NY 11242
(718) 802-1600