NYC Personal Injury Lawyer » Queens Sidewalk Injury Lawyer

Queens Sidewalk Injury Lawyer

Queens residents are busy and productive, meaning most residents spend significant time navigating the borough’s sidewalks. As the largest of the boroughs, Queens contains a substantial portion of New York City’s 12,000 miles of sidewalks, many of which are in a state of disrepair. If you or a close family member experienced a serious sidewalk injury in Queens, reach out to a Queens slip and fall lawyer with experience in this unique category of personal injury law.

Contact us online or call the firm at (212)-564-2800.

What Causes Sidewalk Injuries In Queens?

Sidewalks are a major site for slip-and-fall and trip-and-fall accidents for both Queens residents and visitors to the busy borough. When an irregularity interferes with a pedestrian’s footfall, the result can be a serious fall on a hard sidewalk. The most common causes of sidewalk injuries in Queens include the following:

• Large cracks and gaps
• Raised sidewalk sections (flags) that aren’t flush with the surrounding sections
• Tree root growth that lifts and cracks sidewalk sections
• Loose chunks of concrete
• Shrub overgrowth forming trip hazards
• Protruding hardware on cellar doors
• Cellar doors that are uneven with surrounding pavement
• Uncleared ice and snow
• Standing puddles
• Construction debris

Most sidewalk slip-and-fall accidents result directly from poorly maintained sidewalks. According to New York (NYC311) authorities, property owners are legally responsible for maintaining the sidewalks that abut their property by repairing or replacing damaged flags. The city’s Department of Transportation (DOT) maintains sidewalk sections that abut state and city-owned buildings and public parks, as well as those along highways, under bridges, and on overpasses.

What Types of Sidewalk Injuries Occur In Queens?

When something interferes with a pedestrian’s footfall, it causes injuries in several ways. First, when thrown off-balance, the pedestrian often twists and overextends muscles, tendons, and ligaments (soft tissue) while trying to regain balance and prevent the fall. Then, they suffer blunt force trauma from impact with the hard surface of the concrete. Common sidewalk injuries in Queens include the following:

• Soft-tissue injuries to knees, wrists, shoulders, and ankles
• Fractures
• Back injuries
• Neck injuries
• Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs)
• Lacerations, contusions, and abrasions
• Facial and dental trauma
• Spinal cord injuries

When a pedestrian suffers an injury from a sidewalk fall, and their injuries could have been prevented with reasonable care and maintenance, the injury victim has the right to file a claim against the responsible party with assistance from a premises liability attorney in Queens.

What Makes a Sidewalk Injury Claim Uniquely Complex?

Under New York’s modified comparative negligence law, a sidewalk injury victim has the right to compensation when they are injured due to someone else’s negligence. However, determining and proving liability in a Queens sidewalk injury claim presents significant challenges. For example, while private and commercial property owners are responsible for maintaining sidewalks that align with their properties, the city may be responsible or share liability with a property owner in certain circumstances, for instance, when the damage to the sidewalk was caused by city tree roots. When the city is legally liable, the injury victim must show evidence that the city had prior notification of the unsafe condition.

Claims against government entities also have unique filing requirements and timelines.

How Can a Queens Sidewalk Injury Lawyer Help My Case?

Whether your sidewalk injury case is against a property owner or government agency, it’s inevitably a claim against an insurance policy. Unfortunately, insurers are not on your side. Instead, they actively protect their profits at the injury victim’s expense.

Call the Law Offices of Jay S. Knispel Personal Injury Lawyers at (212)-564-2800 for representation in your Queens sidewalk injury claim so you have strong, determined legal representation fighting tirelessly for your best interests.