New York City Sidewalk Trip & Falls: Who's Responsible?

New York is a very walkable city. In fact, according to the DOT, there are 12,750 miles of sidewalks in New York City. Since it's so easy to get around on foot, New Yorkers frequently choose walking as a means of traveling to work, home, school, running errands, and getting where they need to go. Although we expect to be able to walk safely to our destinations, poorly maintained sidewalks can be a hazard and cause unexpected trip and fall accidents. Potholes, debris, cracked concrete, or uneven paving can all contribute to dangerous sidewalk conditions in New York City.

If you suffered a trip and fall due to another's failure to properly upkeep or repair the sidewalk they were responsible for maintaining in a reasonably safe condition, you may be entitled to compensation for your injuries.

Sidewalk Trip & Fall Accident Liability

If you suffered from a New York City sidewalk trip and fall accident that resulted in injury, determining liability can be complex. What surprises most people is that New York City is generally not responsible for most of the trip and fall accidents that occur on sidewalks throughout the city (with limited exceptions) -- this was not always the case. In 2003, the City enacted New York City Administrative Code 7-210, commonly known as the "Sidewalk Law," which shifted liability for sidewalk accidents away from the City and onto the owners of the properties abutting the sidewalks.

Under the "Sidewalk Law," the owner of a property that abuts the sidewalk is responsible for maintaining it in a "reasonably safe condition" and shall be liable for injuries that are directly caused by their failure to do so. It specifies in part that the "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." Under this law, a property owner is also liable for injuries to another that result from their failure to remove snow, ice, dirt, and other materials from the abutting sidewalk.

Although the City is not a legally responsible party for most cases involving sidewalk trip and falls, there are exceptions built into the law. The "Sidewalk Law" exempts the property owners of one, two and three-family homes which are owner-occupied and used exclusively for residential purposes. In these cases, the City may still be a legally responsible party and held liable for damages.