Attorney Advertising
Premises Liability Lawyer in Queens, NY
Premises liability covers more ground than most people realize. Slip and fall is part of it. So is a paraprofessional struck by a wind-blown construction fence panel on a Queens sidewalk. So is an assault in an apartment building hallway where prior incidents put the owner on notice. So is a falling AC unit, a defective stairwell, a raised utility grate. The common thread: somebody who controlled the property failed to keep it reasonably safe, and New York law gives the injured person a claim. I've handled premises cases from my Forest Hills office for 22 years, including a $900,000 settlement against three defendants for a Queens construction-fence collapse and a $145,000 settlement against the utility company for a Manhattan grate. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Call 718-261-0546.
What is premises liability?
Premises liability is the legal framework that holds property owners and controllers accountable when their failure to keep premises reasonably safe causes injury. In New York, the elements are: (1) a dangerous condition existed on the property; (2) the owner created the condition or had actual or constructive notice of it; (3) they failed to fix or warn within a reasonable time; and (4) the condition was a substantial factor in causing the injury. The framework covers slip-and-fall, inadequate security, construction-site failures injuring pedestrians, falling debris, defective conditions in apartments, and dog bites. The standard is reasonable care under the circumstances.
The four-element test
To win a premises liability case in New York, we prove four elements: (1) A dangerous condition existed. (2) The owner created the condition, had actual notice (knew), or had constructive notice (the condition existed long enough that they should have known). (3) The owner failed to fix or warn within a reasonable time. (4) The condition was a substantial factor in causing the injury. Notice is the most-litigated element. Photographs, prior complaint records, prior similar incidents, maintenance logs, security-camera footage, and witness testimony are what establish or refute notice. Evidence preservation in the first 30 days drives everything. Surveillance footage gets overwritten in 30 to 90 days. Witnesses move. Records get harder to retrieve.
Actual vs. constructive notice
Actual notice means the owner explicitly knew, through a written complaint, a maintenance request, a prior incident report, or direct observation. Constructive notice means the condition existed long enough that the owner should have known through reasonable inspection. Either is sufficient. Constructive notice fills the gap when the owner can't credibly claim ignorance: a wet spot on a grocery floor for an hour, a sidewalk crack visible for weeks, a broken stair photographed by neighbors. The City of New York is held to a tougher standard, under NYC Pothole Law §7-201(c), the City must have specific prior written notice of the exact defect.
Categories of premises liability cases
Sidewalks and walkways. NYC Administrative Code §7-210 puts most sidewalk responsibility on the abutting property owner, not the City. See Slip and Fall for the detailed sub-cluster.
Construction-site failures injuring non-workers. When a construction site's failure injures a pedestrian or passerby, responsibility runs to the property owner, the general contractor, and any subcontractor whose negligence contributed. Each has independent insurance. Multi-defendant settlements are common. These cases differ from worker cases under Labor Law §240, the Labor Law protects workers; ordinary premises liability protects everyone else.
Retail and commercial premises. Wet floors, polished floors, transition strips, stair defects, parking-lot conditions, lighting. Notice is the central question.
Apartment buildings and residential premises. Common areas, hallways, stairwells, elevators, lobbies. NYC's Multiple Dwelling Law and the warranty of habitability layer on top of common-law duties. NYCHA carries a separate 90-day Notice of Claim under GML §50-e.
Inadequate security. Inadequate-security cases hold property owners liable for foreseeable third-party crimes, assaults, robberies, sexual assaults, on premises where the owner knew or should have known about the risk and failed to provide reasonable security. Foreseeability typically requires evidence of prior similar incidents on the same premises or in the immediate vicinity. Common defendants: apartment buildings, hotels, parking garages, retail centers, hospitals. Built in the first 60 days or not built at all.
Government property. 90-day Notice of Claim under GML §50-e for the City, NYCHA, MTA, NYC DOE, and the State.
Dog bites. New York's "one bite" rule under Domestic Animal Law: owner liable when prior aggression was known.
The $900,000 Queens construction-fence case
The client was a paraprofessional with the NYC Board of Education on her lunch break, walking past an active Queens construction site on a windy day. Workers had left an access door in the perimeter fence unsecured. A gust caught the panel, 200 to 300 pounds, and flattened her. Fractured pelvis, fractured pubic ramus, multiple pelvic bones. The injuries were not surgically repairable. A month and a half to two months in the hospital. The defense's argument was that she "healed fine" because she never had surgery. Five years of litigation against three defendants, property owner, GC, and the subcontractor whose workers left the door unsecured. Settled at mediation: $300,000 from each defendant. Total: $900,000. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Full case study at /results/construction-fence-900k-queens.
What your case might be worth
Settlements range from a few thousand dollars for minor injuries to seven figures for catastrophic ones. NYC Comptroller's FY2023 median PI settlement: $15,000. Multi-defendant cases like the $900K Queens fence case often involve stacked insurance. Inadequate-security cases against larger landlords often involve substantial policy limits. Catastrophic cases, TBI, spinal cord injury, fatal falls, settle in the high six and seven figures.
Time limits
- 3-year statute of limitations under CPLR §214(5).
- 90-day Notice of Claim for the City, NYCHA, MTA, NYC DOE, and State property under GML §50-e. Lawsuit filed within 1 year and 90 days.
- Out-of-possession landlords have limited liability; in-possession landlords retain duty for common areas.
Frequently asked questions
What is premises liability in New York? Premises liability is the legal doctrine that holds property owners and controllers liable when their failure to keep premises reasonably safe causes injury. The standard is reasonable care under the circumstances. The plaintiff must prove a dangerous condition, notice (actual or constructive), failure to fix, and causation.
New York abandoned the rigid "trespasser, licensee, invitee" categories in Basso v. Miller, 40 N.Y.2d 233 (1976). Owners now owe a single duty of reasonable care.
Who is responsible if I'm injured on private property? The property owner is the primary defendant. Tenants in possession may be additional defendants. Property managers, maintenance contractors, and security vendors can be named when their negligence contributed. In construction failures injuring non-workers, owners, GCs, and subcontractors all face exposure.
Identifying every defendant in the first 30 days matters, each has separate insurance and deadlines. The $900,000 Queens fence case settled with three defendants contributing $300,000 each. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Can I sue a NYC apartment building for an injury? Yes, in many situations. The building owner has a duty under NY's Multiple Dwelling Law, the warranty of habitability, and common-law premises liability to maintain reasonably safe common areas. When a defect causes injury and the owner had notice or should have, liability typically follows. NYCHA carries a separate 90-day Notice of Claim under GML §50-e.
I was attacked on someone's property. Do I have a case? Possibly, these are inadequate-security cases. New York holds owners liable when foreseeable third-party crimes occur on premises where the owner knew or should have known about the risk and failed to provide reasonable security. Foreseeability typically requires evidence of prior similar incidents on the premises or in the immediate vicinity.
Evidence-intensive: police records, prior-incident reports, security-personnel depositions, lighting and camera placement.
I didn't have surgery. Do I still have a case? Yes. Surgery is one piece of medical evidence, not the only one. Many serious premises injuries, fractures, soft-tissue tears, head injuries, pelvic fractures, heal without surgical intervention. What matters is the documented injury, medical record, and lasting limitations.
The $900,000 Queens fence case involved multiple pelvic fractures with no surgical fix. The $145,000 the utility case involved a fractured shoulder where the elderly client declined surgery. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Talk to Nick
Call 718-261-0546. Free consultation. No fee unless we recover. Office: 102-11 Metropolitan Ave, Forest Hills, NY 11375.
Related reading: Slip and Fall | Car Accidents | Construction Accidents | Case Results
Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. The information on this page is for general informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. Reading this page does not create an attorney-client relationship.
Common questions.
Premises liability is the broader category: any injury caused by an unsafe condition on someone else's property, including slip-and-fall, falling objects, inadequate lighting, defective stairs, electrical hazards, and inadequate security. Slip-and-fall is one subset. The law is common-law negligence with the New York notice-and-reasonable-care standard.
Sometimes. The landlord is liable for injuries from defects in common areas they control (lobbies, stairwells, halls), and for unit defects they failed to repair after receiving notice. Under NY Real Property Law §235-b (the implied warranty of habitability) and the NYC Housing Maintenance Code, certain conditions create landlord liability even within the unit.
NYCHA is a public entity, so a 90-day Notice of Claim under General Municipal Law §50-e is required, plus a 50-h pre-suit hearing. Cases against NYCHA are vigorously defended; we work the case up the same way we would against a private owner, with full notice records (work orders, prior complaints, inspection logs) pulled in discovery.
Yes in important ways. The statute of limitations is typically tolled (paused) until the child turns 18, so they have three years from their 18th birthday to file. But the Notice of Claim deadlines for municipal defendants (90 days under GML §50-e) are NOT tolled, those still apply, so cases against the City or NYCHA must be filed immediately even for child plaintiffs.
With significant resources. The Law Department typically denies liability, demands the 50-h hearing, conducts depositions, and pushes cases through trial. Prior-written-notice rules under NYC Admin Code §7-201(c)(2) make sidewalk cases against the City harder, you usually need the Big Apple Pothole and Sidewalk Protection Committee map showing prior notice. We pull those records.
It depends entirely on injury severity, the liability picture, and the defendant's coverage. Soft-tissue cases with limited medical care resolve in the low five figures; cases involving surgery, permanent injury, or catastrophic harm can reach mid-six to seven figures. Our $145,000 Manhattan utility grate case was a shoulder fracture with surgery in an elderly client. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Free consultation. No fee unless we win.
Call 718-261-0546 or use the form. I answer my own phone during business hours, and the answering service patches urgent calls through after hours.
Twenty-two years on these cases. Boutique New York City practice with a real team behind it. Bilingual concierge on staff. Hablamos español. Arabic spoken on request.