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Snowy or Icy Sidewalks

Ice and Snow Accidents Injury Lawyer

NEW YORK CITY INJURY LAWYERS FOR SNOW & ICE ACCIDENTS

Snowy and icy sidewalks can present a real hazard for pedestrians. Although a person walking in New York City in the cold winter months carries some responsibility for being cautious in adverse weather conditions, hidden ice or other dangers can be linked to property owner negligence. If a property owner or the City of New York is negligent in maintaining sidewalks in icy and snowy conditions and you slip and fall as a result, you may have grounds for a lawsuit.

Serving all five boroughs and the surrounding areas, the New York personal injury attorneys at Silbowitz, Garafola, Silbowitz, Schatz & Frederick, L.L.P. can provide experienced legal representation after a slip and fall accident caused by snow or ice. Our legal team is accessible and dedicated, and we have the resources to effectively investigate snow and ice accidents across New York.

snow and ice slip and fall accident lawyers nyc

Who Is Responsible for Clearing Snow & Ice?

One of the key factors in a snow or ice accident case is determining responsibility for maintaining safe sidewalks. In New York City, this is the property owner adjacent to the sidewalk. If the snow or ice has accumulated on the sidewalk or another structure attached to the property during a storm, property owners and managers are responsible for removing it and making the walkways clear within a reasonable time. The owner or manager of the adjacent property can also be held liable if they knew or reasonably should have known that an unsafe condition existed and they failed to take the proper steps to fix it. Another stipulation is that the attempted removal of the ice or snow cannot make the hazard even worse.

The only exception is 1, 2, or 3 family owner-occupied residential properties, in which case the City of New York has the responsibility of clearing snow and ice in front of those properties.

NYC Admin Code § 16-123

Laws pertaining to proper ice and snow removal can be found under New York City Administrative Code § 16-123. Specific rules apply for clearing snow and ice from New York City sidewalks. To keep their property safe for others, NYC property owners have a legal duty to:

  • Clear sidewalks and/or parking lots within 4 hours if snow stops falling between 7am and 5pm; and
  • Clear sidewalks and/or parking lots before 11am if snow stops falling between 5pm and 7am.

So, whether it’s the City of New York or individual property owners, if they left their sidewalk or parking lot in a dangerous condition by failing to remove snow and someone is injured as a result, a premises liability claim may be possible. To discuss the details of your claim, reach out to our NYC injury law firm for a free consultation today.

Why You Need a Personal Injury Lawyer for Your Accident Claim

Premises liability cases, especially those involving a slip and fall accident, can lead to serious injury and financial stress. They can also be quite difficult to navigate alone. The best way to set yourself up to obtain full and fair compensation is by hiring the legal services of competent personal injury attorneys like those at Silbowitz, Garafola, Silbowitz, Schatz & Frederick, L.L.P. We’ll provide a free evaluation of your case and explain your legal options, and from there, you can decide whether you would like to establish a formal attorney-client relationship.

Should you choose to move forward with our services, our experienced New York premises liability attorneys will get straight to work building a strong case for you. We will try to reach a settlement with the insurance company before trial, but if an agreement cannot be reached, we are not afraid to fight for you at trial.

 

In cases like this, it will be the responsibility of the person bringing forth the claim (and their legal team) to:

  • Establish how long the danger was present
  • Whether the owner/manager had enough time to discover and take action to resolve the condition

By determining the precise location and time of the incident and how the property owner was negligent in maintaining the sidewalk, which led to unsafe snowy or icy conditions, we can prove liability and maximize your recovery.

snow and ice accident attorneys in new york

What Damages are Recoverable in Slip and Fall Accidents?

Slip and fall accidents are types of premises liability cases, which are types of personal injury cases. As such, slip and fall injuries warrant the same damages as any personal injury case. You may be able to recover compensation for:

  • Current and future medical expenses related to the accident
  • Lost wages
  • Lost earning capacity
  • Pain and suffering
  • Mental anguish
  • Loss of consortium
  • And more

However, keep in mind that the amount of compensation you receive varies depending on the unique circumstances of your case. For example, accident victims suffering from spinal cord injuries or traumatic brain injuries will likely receive a much higher payout than accident victims suffering a few bruises, abrasions, or even broken bones. This is because traumatic brain injuries require a significantly higher amount of medical attention than do bruises and broken bones, and thus, they demand a higher financial recovery.

snow and ice accident lawyer nyc

New York City Premises Liability Law Firm

Uncleared snow and ice on the sidewalk can be extremely dangerous in New York City, which is why safety measures are put in place for property owners regarding the shoveling and removing of snow and ice. Failure to do so could lead to a number of people slipping and becoming seriously injured as a result.

If you or a family member were injured in a slip and fall accident on someone else’s property, our New York personal injury lawyers at Silbowitz, Garafola, Silbowitz, Schatz & Frederick, L.L.P. want to help you pursue your premises liability claim. We will conduct a thorough investigation into your case and make sure we do all that we can to hold the negligent property owner liable while fighting for maximum compensation of your behalf.

We are happy to provide our clients with a free consultation to learn more about their legal options and to see if we are a good fit for them. What’s more, we work on a contingency-fee basis, which means our ice accidents/snow accidents clients pay nothing unless we win for them.

To set up your initial consultation, call the New York injury law offices of Silbowitz, Garafola, Silbowitz, Schatz & Frederick, L.L.P. at (800) 498-2782 or contact us via our online intake form.

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Hiring the right attorney to represent you is one of the most important decisions you will ever make and is crucial to getting fair and adequate compensation for your pain and suffering.

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howard r schatz managing attorney

Howard Schatz

Partner/Managing Attorney

irwin silbowitz founding member

Irwin Silbowitz

Founding Member, Deceased

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