NYC Housing Authority Negligence Lawyer

Public housing under New York City’s Housing Authority (NYCHA) provides lower-income New Yorkers with affordable housing based on each eligible family’s total income. Occupants of the city’s public housing have the right to a reasonable expectation of safety in their own homes and common areas, but when the NYC Housing Authority fails to meet its legal duty of care, the agency’s negligence can result in serious injuries.

After suffering injuries caused by the negligence of the NYC Housing Authority, you may have the right to compensation for your losses; however, claims against government entities have unique requirements and challenges that require careful guidance from an experienced premises liability lawyer in New York.

Contact our firm at (212)-564-2800.

What Types of Housing Authority Negligence Cause Injuries?

The NYC Housing Authority is responsible for ensuring that public housing is not only available and affordable for low-income families, but also safe, well-maintained, and free of known hazards. Unfortunately, accidents and injuries occur in public housing due to the following:

Poorly maintained buildings and/or building code violations
Unsafe or broken staircases or elevators
Cracked or broken walkways, steps, and parking lots
Structural failures such as ceiling collapses and balcony collapses
Plumbing leaks and mold growth
Pest infestation
Failure to maintain or provide adequate smoke detectors, fire escapes, and fire extinguishers
Inadequate lighting
Insufficient security
Heating and plumbing failures
Dangerous appliances

Unfortunately, NYCHA sometimes fails to promptly address known maintenance problems and safety hazards, delays repairs, and fails to address tenant complaints, leaving dangerous conditions for families in public housing units.

What Types of Injuries Result From NYC Housing Authority Negligence?

When public housing apartment buildings are allowed to become rundown, and the NYC Housing Authority ignores complaints or provides insufficient maintenance and security, the result can be serious harm to tenants, including the following:

Head injuries and traumatic brain injuries from slip-and-fall accidents
Back and neck injuries
Soft-tissue injuries like sprains, tendon injuries, and torn ligaments
Fractures
Burns and smoke inhalation
Illnesses from toxic exposures
Spinal cord injuries
Crush injuries and traumatic amputations

Injuries can quickly become financially costly as well as painful and sometimes temporarily or permanently debilitating. These are the damages in a claim against the liable party after suffering a preventable injury in NYC public housing.

Who Is Liable for Injuries Caused by NYC Housing Authority Negligence?

NYCHA is often directly liable for the damages an injury victim experiences, such as past and future medical expenses, total income loss, and compensation for pain and suffering. Depending on the circumstances, however, other entities could be liable, such as a negligent management company, a negligent repair or maintenance company, or a construction or renovation company that fails to follow building codes.

What Makes Claims Against the NYC Housing Authority Challenging?

No lawsuit is easy, but claims against government agencies require careful adherence to filing details and unique time limits. For instance, when filing a claim against a government agency, the claimant must first file a notice of claim with the appropriate agency within 90 days of the accident date. The agency then has 30 days to respond. Then, if the case requires court, the claimant must file a lawsuit petition within 1 year and 90 days of the injury date, rather than the three-year statute of limitations in typical personal injury cases.

Contact a NYC Housing Authority Negligence Lawyer

When you’ve suffered an injury that could have been prevented with reasonable care by the NYC Housing Authority or a company responsible for maintenance and repair in public housing, you have the right to recover compensation, but recovering compensation isn’t a straightforward process. Instead, it requires careful navigation and assertive legal representation.

Call The Law Offices of Jay. S. Knispel at (212)-564-2800 to learn how an experienced NYC Housing Authority negligence lawyer can help your case.