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New York City Public Transportation Trip and Falls & Slip and Falls
New Yorkers spend a good deal of time in the subway, on buses, and at train stations. While we expect to be able to ride on public transportation and traverse through public transit stations without incident, there are sometimes defects in walkways or platforms, that can cause trip and falls. In addition, other safety issues such as spills, leaks, and precipitation accumulation may create hazards that can lead to slip and falls.
Trip and fall and slip and fall accidents can result in extensive physical injuries. If you have been injured in a trip and fall or slip and fall due to negligence on property owned and maintained by the MTA, NYCTA, Port Authority, the Long Island Railroad, Metro North or another public transportation entity, agency or authority, you may be able to file a lawsuit to recover your damages. Demonstrating Negligence
Suing a public transportation entity, agency, or authority for a trip and fall or slip and fall accident can be extremely complex.
To be liable for your injuries, the public transportation entity, agency or authority must have been negligent. This means that a dangerous condition existed that it knew about --or should have known about- and did not remedy in a reasonable amount of time. Negligence may also be demonstrated based upon a failure to warn about a hazardous condition.
There are many scenarios that can give rise to liability for public transportation-related trip and falls or slip and falls, including:
- Broken steps leading to subway and train platforms
- Misleveled or defective bus steps
- Debris on bus, train or subway floors
- Failure to warn about slippery floors
- Failure to repair leaks
- Water and precipitation accumulation
- Cracked or broken floors and walkways
To determine which entity, agency or authority to pursue a claim against, it must be determined which one owns and maintains the property on which you fell. Depending on where your accident took place, your claim might be filed against the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA), the New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA), Port Authority, the Long Island Railroad, or another entity, agency or authority.
Recoverable Damages
If you were injured in a public transportation-related trip and fall as a result of negligence, you may be entitled to recover damages for your injuries. Trip and falls accidents can cause serious and significant injuries such as fractures, soft tissue injuries, spinal damage, brain injury, and even paralysis. Depending on the facts and circumstances of your case, you may be able to recover compensation for past and future medical expenses, time lost from work, pain and suffering, emotional distress, and loss of consortium.
Contact an Experienced New York Personal Injury Attorney
If you were injured on public transportation, or at a train, bus, or subway station, you should contact a personal injury attorney immediately who can advise you of your legal rights. It is important to contact an attorney who handles premises liability cases such as trip and falls and slip and falls as soon as possible. There are strict statutes of limitation that begin running from the date of the accident and much shorter ones if a claim should be brought against a public authority. An experienced personal injury attorney can help you recover the compensation you deserve for your injuries, medical expenses, and time lost from work.
The Popick Law Firm has over thirty years of experience in obtaining compensation for victims of premises liability including trip and falls and slip and falls. Located in Fresh Meadows, NY, The Popick Law Firm handles personal injury and auto accident cases in Queens, Brooklyn, Manhattan, the Bronx, as well as Nassau and Suffolk counties. Contact The Popick Law Firm today for a consultation.
