Many of my readers no doubt wonder what exactly is the law that relates to sidewalk defects that causes serious personal injuries from trips and falls. The law does not differ by Borough but is Citywide. It is the same in the Bronx for a trip and fall as in Brooklyn for a trip and fall. The important thing to consider is two fold. Many pedestrians use City sidewalks.

We ain’t exactly in Kansas Dorthy. I say that with a little sarcasm, which I apologize to the people of Kansas which is a wonderful state actually, and key to the Westward expansion and the early farmers who homesteaded the State with farming. A great state of rows of corn for miles and miles. How about that pivot irrigation. Interesting look it up when you can….

The people from Kansas endured the dust bowl…enduring prairie fever from the extreme isolation….nothing but raw land…what is the point of this…the point is that NYC is a mega city. Thousands of people walk on the sidewalks here. We are not Iowa where I was speaking to another lawyer this evening at a social for lawyers who do Bankruptcy law. She said that in Iowa there are none of these law suits from trips and falls. I asked her if Iowa was a contributory negligence state. This means that if you could have seen the defect then the owner of the sidewalk is not responsible. In other words it would have to be pitch black out and then you have a case. Virginia is also a contributory negligence state. If you could have any fault in those states you have no case.

Not in New York City we are a comparative negligence state when it comes to personal injury cases (particularly sidewalk defects), and as I said because so many people use our sidewalks. So many people get injured. This means there can be a percentage of fault for open defects.

Furthermore….building owners pay for their insurance to cover such accidents. The lawyer from Iowa I was speaking to commented that there are not many sidewalks in IOWA anyway….Alright so here is some of the relevant laws that are directly related to the issue of sidewalk defects and trips and fall.

§7-210 Liability of real property owner for failure to maintain sidewalk in a reasonably safe condition.

a. It shall be the duty of the owner of real property abutting any sidewalk, including, but not limited to, the intersection quadrant for corner property, to maintain such sidewalk in a reasonably safe condition.

b. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the owner of real property abutting any sidewalk, including, but not limited to, the intersection quadrant for corner property, shall be liable for any injury to property or personal injury, including death, proximately caused by the failure of such owner to maintain such sidewalk in a reasonably safe condition. Failure to maintain such sidewalk in a reasonably safe condition shall include, but not be limited to, the negligent failure to install, construct, reconstruct, repave, repair or replace defective sidewalk flags and the negligent failure to remove snow, ice, dirt or other material from the sidewalk. This subdivision shall not apply to one-, two- or three-family residential real property that is (i) in whole or in part, owner occupied, and (ii) used exclusively for residential purposes.” …

· New York City Charter, Code, Amendments & Rules

New York City rules & Regulations (NYC Rules & Regulations), Title 34, Department of Transportation, Chapter 2, Highway Rules, under the following sections, states:

Ҥ2-09 Sidewalk, Curb and Roadway Work.

(f) Sidewalk. (1) Property owners’ responsibility. Property owners shall, at their own cost, install, repave, reconstruct and maintain in good repair, at all times, the sidewalk abutting their properties, including, but not limited to the intersection quadrant for corner property, in accordance with the specifications of the Department.

(5) Substantial defects. Any of the following conditions shall be considered a substantial defect.

(iv) A trip hazard where the vertical differential between adjacent flags is greater than or equal to 1/2″ or where a flag contains one or more surface defects of one inch or greater in all horizontal directions and is 1/2″ or more in depth.”

So a substantial defect can be any size and there is no hard and fast rule it depends on the nature of hte defect and how it happened. But the ½ inch defect is an important standard.

Manuel Moses, Esq. 236 West 26th Street Suite 303 New York, New York 10001 (212) 736-2524 x11 nothing in this blog is intended to be formal legal advice seek the advice of a competent attorney to answer the questions related to the specific facts of your case.

The Relevant New York City Law Related to a Sidewalk Trip and Fall was originally published on Manuel Moses Law Office – New York, NY | Personal Injury Attorney | Free Consultation (212) 736-2624 Ext. 11

The Relevant New York City Law Related to a Sidewalk Trip And Fall was originally published on Manuel Moses Law Office – New York, NY | Personal Injury Attorney | Free Consultation (212) 736-2624 Ext. 11