Slip accident lawyer in Park Slope

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Slip and Fall Lawyer in Park Slope

Park Slope's brownstone housing stock, the commercial strips on Seventh Avenue and Fifth Avenue, and the western edge of Prospect Park combine to produce a particular set of fall-claim patterns: brownstone stoop falls, school-zone sidewalk hazards, and slip-and-falls inside the boutique shops and restaurants on the avenues. I represent Park Slope fall victims out of my Forest Hills office and file Brooklyn cases at the Kings County Supreme Court at 360 Adams Street. Call 718-261-0546.

Where Park Slope slip-and-fall cases happen

Brownstone stoop falls are the signature Park Slope case. The neighborhood holds one of the largest concentrations of intact 1880s brownstone housing in the city, with stoops that step up four to seven risers from the sidewalk. Worn stone treads, unstable iron railings, ice that the owner failed to clear within the four-hour rule, and missing or broken steps are the recurring conditions. Owner liability under § 7-210 is straightforward when the building is a multi-family rental, but more nuanced when it is owner-occupied (one- and two-family owner-occupied properties remain under City responsibility for the public sidewalk in front, but stoop falls are on private property and follow common-law premises-liability rules).

The Seventh Avenue and Fifth Avenue commercial strips produce sidewalk and entryway falls outside the boutique retail, restaurants, and cafes. The boutiques often have step-up entries at the doorway that have produced trip-and-fall claims, and the wood or polished-stone floors inside have produced wet-floor falls. The commercial owners are responsible for the public sidewalk under § 7-210 and for the inside premises under common-law principles.

The third cluster is school-zone-adjacent. Park Slope is famously child-dense, with PS 321 on Seventh Avenue, PS 39 on Eighth Avenue, and a dense ring of private and public schools producing heavy stroller and child foot traffic at dismissal time. Sidewalk falls during dismissal congestion, falls on wet PS school steps (Notice of Claim cases against NYC DOE), and falls on the Prospect Park West edge are all in the case mix. Flatbush Avenue and Fourth Avenue handle the heavier vehicle volume and produce some sidewalk-fall cases on the wider crossings.

NYC sidewalk law and adjacent property owner liability

NYC Administrative Code § 7-210 makes the owner of property abutting the public sidewalk responsible for keeping it in reasonably safe condition. In Park Slope, the responsible owner is often a multi-family brownstone owner, a commercial-building owner along Seventh Avenue or Fifth Avenue, or a co-op corporation along the western edge of the park. The City of New York is generally not the right defendant.

The owner-occupied one- and two-family exception is significant in Park Slope because so many of the brownstones are owner-occupied. If the building is a single-family residence with the owner living in it, the City retains responsibility for the public sidewalk in front. The City also retains liability for tree-pit defects and certain hardware. Utility-owned grates shift liability to the utility.

For falls inside Prospect Park (NYC Parks property), at any of the public schools, on NYCHA property, or at any MTA station (Grand Army Plaza on the 2/3, 7th Avenue on the F/G, Atlantic Avenue-Barclays on multiple lines), General Municipal Law § 50-e requires a Notice of Claim within 90 days. Lawsuit within one year and 90 days. The NYC DOE 90-day rule applies to public-school cases.

What to do after a slip-fall in Park Slope

1. Get medical attention. NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist at 506 6th Street is the primary local hospital and the closest ER for most of the Slope.
2. Photograph the brownstone stoop, the sidewalk defect, or the boutique entryway from multiple angles. Photograph the weather conditions if ice is involved. Save your shoes.
3. Get witness contact information. The neighbor across the stoop, the parent at school dismissal, the shop employee.
4. Report the fall to the building owner, school principal, or shop manager. Ask for the incident report.

Snow and ice cases turn on the four-hour clearance rule under NYC § 16-123 and the storm-in-progress doctrine. Brownstone-stoop ice cases are common in the January-March window.

Cases I take

• Brownstone stoop falls (multi-family rental owner cases, common-law premises liability)
• Sidewalk defect falls on Seventh Avenue, Fifth Avenue, Flatbush Avenue, and Prospect Park West
• Boutique shop and restaurant slip-and-falls
• School-zone falls (NYC DOE Notice of Claim cases)
• Prospect Park slip-and-falls and trip-and-falls (NYC Parks Notice of Claim)
• Apartment-building stairwell and lobby falls
• the utility company and utility-grate trip-and-falls
• Snow and ice clearance failures

Talk to me

Call 718-261-0546. Free consultation. No fee unless we recover. Spanish-language intake available. Office: 102-11 Metropolitan Ave, Forest Hills, NY 11375.

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