Dangerous and icy conditions across the city are causing an influx of slip-and-fall injury patients, making emergency rooms even busier. According to the Staten Island Advance, Staten Island University Hospital’s two campuses saw around 150 patients for such injuries and the hospital’s campus in Ocean Breeze has been seeing twice as many patients while their Prince’s Bay campus saw about four times its usual patients.
Slipping and falling on snow and ice is fairly common in New York City, particularly during these cold winter months. However, it is important to remember that not all of these falls are “random” or “unavoidable” accidents. Many falls occur on snow and ice because property owners and managers fail to clear it in a timely manner from their premises. In some cases, property owners and managers may even do something to create the unsafe condition that leads to the slip and fall accident.
Who is Responsible for Clearing Ice and Snow in NYC?
New York City has laws specific to snow removal for buildings within its boroughs. The city’s Department of Sanitation requires snow to be removed no later than four hours after the end of snowfall or not later than 11 a.m. if the snowfall stopped after 9 p.m. the night before. If the snow cannot be cleared due to packed ice or other weather-related issues, property managers or owners are allowed to place down snowmelt or other products for traction. At no time should snow be shoveled on to city streets because that poses additional slip-and-fall dangers to pedestrians.
When it comes to snow and ice on sidewalks, the city’s Administrative Code requires all businesses including houses of worship and multi-family dwellings to remove it promptly. The duty to remove snow and ice from sidewalks does not apply to residential properties with one, two or three families where properties are occupied by the owner and are not used for business purposes. In such cases, the city can be held liable. The city can also be held responsible if it fails to clear snow or ice that collects in crosswalks and causes a slip-and-fall accident.
Injuries and Losses
Slip-and-fall injuries on ice and snow may result in major injuries such as traumatic brain injuries, multiple broken bones, strains and sprains, spinal cord trauma (neck and back injuries), internal organ damage, etc. Some slip-and-fall accidents in snow or ice may even prove fatal.
Victims of these falls may be looking at long recovery times that make it difficult for them to return to work. They may also have to deal with mounting medical expenses and the cost of rehabilitation as well as ongoing treatments and therapies. This is why it is important to seek an experienced New York slip and fall injury lawyer who will fight hard to help you secure maximum compensation for your losses.
Contacting an Experienced Lawyer
If you were involved in a slip-and-fall or a trip-and-fall accident as a result of someone else’s negligence (carelessness), please remember that you have rights. Some of the damages that victims of such accidents can claim include, but are not limited to, medical expenses, loss of wages and benefits, cost of hospitalization, surgery, physical therapy, past and future pain and suffering, permanent injury, etc.
The experienced New York personal injury attorneys with the Law Offices of Kenneth A. Wilhelm can help you better understand your legal rights and options and also fight hard to recover just compensation for you. For 50 years, our skilled attorneys have established a proven track record of helping injured victims.
Our law firm recovered $1,700,000 for a woman who slipped and fell and received no hospital or medical treatment for one month after the accident. Our law firm also recently recovered $5,600,000 for a bicyclist who was hit by a van, and $2,550,000 for another victim of a truck accident, and $3,000,000 for a pedestrian who was hit by a car, and the full $1,000,000 insurance policy for a pedestrian who was hit by a truck, and $4,625,000 for a driver who was in a car and was hit by a van, and $2,500,000 for a man who fell through an improperly secured hole. Also, one of our clients obtained a verdict for $43,940,000 and another of our clients got a verdict for $23,500,000, both in medical malpractice cases.
Please contact us TOLL FREE 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 1-800-WORK-4-YOU (1-800-967-5496). WE CAN EVEN COME TO YOU. There is no attorneys’ fee unless we recover money for you. We can also help with personal injury and/or medical malpractice cases in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, or Florida. If you have been seriously injured in any of the 50 U.S. states, please call us and we will try to help you with your case.
Other TOLL FREE phone numbers for us are:
1-800-RADIO-LAW, 1-888-WYPADEK, OR 1-800-LAS-LEYES
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