Premises accident lawyer in Bushwick

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Premises Liability Lawyer in Bushwick, Brooklyn

Bushwick's premises cases come out of the building stock: old brick walk-ups along Knickerbocker, Myrtle, and the cross streets between Flushing and Broadway, plus the new bar-and-loft scene on Wyckoff and Jefferson. The case mix runs heavy on apartment-building stairwell falls, sidewalk defects on the commercial avenues, and inside-premises falls in the venues that have opened along the L line. I represent Bushwick injury victims out of my Forest Hills office and file Kings County cases at 360 Adams Street. Call 718-261-0546.

Where Bushwick premises cases come from

The first source is the multi-family walk-up housing stock. The old brick tenements along Bleecker, Menahan, Stockholm, Greene, Hart, and the cross streets between Myrtle and Flushing run four to six stories with original wood-and-iron stairs, narrow stairwells, and lighting that has not been updated in decades. Stair falls, lobby falls, and falls in the entry vestibules are the recurring cases. The landlord is the defendant under common-law premises-liability rules, and the case turns on proving the dangerous condition existed long enough that the owner had actual or constructive notice and failed to fix it within a reasonable time. Bushwick Houses (Flushing Avenue between Humboldt and Knickerbocker) and the smaller NYCHA developments run on a separate track because NYCHA cases require a Notice of Claim within 90 days under General Municipal Law §50-e.

The second is the commercial corridor along Knickerbocker, Wyckoff, and Myrtle. Sidewalk defects in front of the storefronts under §7-210 put the abutting owner on the hook. Wet entryways, broken cellar doors at the storefronts, and step-down entries that have not been marked produce inside-premises falls. The bars, music venues, and restaurants on Wyckoff between Jefferson and DeKalb add a separate seasonal exposure during the late-night hours. Open basement-access doors at the storefronts are a recurring hazard, and the case law on cellar-door falls in Brooklyn is well developed.

The third is the school and NYCHA edge. Bushwick has a cluster of public schools serving a population with high rates of school-age children, and DOE school cases run on the 90-day Notice of Claim clock. NYCHA at Bushwick Houses, Hope Gardens, and the smaller scatter-site developments produces stairwell falls, lobby falls, and lighting-failure cases on a regular cycle. MTA property at the L and M stations (Myrtle-Wyckoff, Jefferson, DeKalb, Halsey, Knickerbocker, Central) is City-owned for §50-e purposes.

What "premises liability" means in NY

Property owners and operators in New York owe a single duty of reasonable care under Basso v. Miller, 40 N.Y.2d 233 (1976). The case requires four elements: a dangerous condition existed; the owner had actual or constructive notice of the condition (or created it); the owner failed to fix or warn within a reasonable time; and the failure was a substantial cause of the injury.

For sidewalk falls in Bushwick, NYC Administrative Code §7-210 places the responsibility on the abutting property owner. That means the brick-building owner is the defendant on a Bleecker Street sidewalk fall, the bodega is the defendant on a Knickerbocker Avenue fall, and the bar is the defendant on a Wyckoff Avenue fall. The City of New York is not the right defendant on those cases. The exception is owner-occupied one- and two-family residences where the City retains liability for the public sidewalk (uncommon in Bushwick).

For falls on DOE school property, on NYCHA, on MTA property at any of the L or M train stations, or on any other City-owned land, GML §50-e gives you 90 days from the date of the fall to serve a Notice of Claim. The lawsuit must be filed within one year and 90 days. Miss the 90-day Notice and the three-year standard tort statute of limitations does not bail you out. NYC DOE has its own variant of the same 90-day rule.

What to do after a Bushwick premises injury

1. Get medical attention. Wyckoff Heights Medical Center at 374 Stockholm Street is the primary local hospital. Woodhull Medical Center on Broadway is the alternative for the western and southwestern parts of the neighborhood.
2. Photograph the defect, the lighting, any signage, and the scene. Stair-fall cases especially benefit from photography of the entire stair run, the handrail, the tread surface, and the lighting. Take photos before the landlord patches.
3. Identify the owner. The NYC Department of Buildings BIS portal shows active permits, complaints, and ECB violations against the property. ACRIS shows the deed. For NYCHA, the development management office holds the records. For DOE schools, the 90-day clock is already running.
4. File the incident report and request the building's or business's video. Do not give a recorded statement to the landlord's or storefront's insurer before calling me.

Cases I take

• Stairwell falls in walk-up tenements on Bleecker, Menahan, Stockholm, Greene, and Hart
• Sidewalk defects on Knickerbocker, Wyckoff, Myrtle, Broadway, and Flushing
• Bar and music-venue inside falls on Wyckoff and Jefferson
• Bodega and storefront slip-and-falls along the commercial corridors
• Cellar-door and basement-access trip-and-falls
• NYCHA falls at Bushwick Houses and Hope Gardens (90-day Notice)
• DOE school injuries at Bushwick public schools (90-day Notice)
• Lobby and entry-vestibule lighting failures
• Dog bites on landlord premises where the dog was known to the building
• Falling-fixture cases when ceiling fixtures or stair components give way

Talk to Nick

Call 718-261-0546. Free consultation. Office: 102-11 Metropolitan Ave, Forest Hills, NY 11375. Spanish-language intake available. Prior results include a $2 million Brooklyn DOE Labor Law settlement and a $900,000 premises settlement. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

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