Don’t slip up when it comes to seeking damages in a defective sidewalk accident
The combination of harsh New York City winters and an infrastructure that continues to age means that there are miles and miles of poorly maintained and defective sidewalks in the Big Apple. Despite this ongoing wear and tear, municipal government and private property owners have a duty to provide well-maintained and safe public walkways. When this duty is breached, people who fall and suffer an accident as a result are entitled to seek compensation.
Sidewalk accidents can be the specific result of many things:
- Accumulated snow and ice on a sidewalk
- An improper slope when the sidewalk was constructed
- Loose or unstable concrete or other sidewalk materials
- Debris on the walkway
- Tripping hazards due to sidewalk vaults, grates or other infrastructure
- Faulty construction that creates a hazard
- Poorly lit public pathways that make it difficult to see obstacles in low light levels
Although premises liability law holds property owners accountable, it should be expected that not every property owner will want to fairly compensate a fall or another injury related to a defective sidewalk. The best recourse to protect your rights after this kind of accident is to retain an experienced accident lawyer. You should not waste too much time in deciding whether or not to pursue a claim or what lawyer to use because there is a 90-day window for filing a claim if the sidewalk is owned by a city or a town.
Rules regarding premises laws are complex, and there are many exceptions, so retaining a lawyer can mean the difference between possible net economic losses and a settlement that fully compensates a person for their medical bills, pain and suffering, lost work and other related damages.
