Did you trip and fall and suffer a serious personal injury?

Michele Mirman | Personal Injury,Slip & Fall Injuries | January 4, 2019

Did you trip and fall and suffer a serious personal injury? You are not alone. Those broken, cracked NYC sidewalks and icy walkways, the missing tiles, broken nosing, and cracked steps at NYCHA and other buildings, and the misleveled elevators at residential and commercial buildings, have caused more injuries and deaths than we can imagine. In fact, the NYS Department of Health reported that “fall-related injuries are the leading cause of hospitalizations . . . the leading cause of deaths for those age 45 and older . . . result in serious injuries such as traumatic brain injuries or fractures.”

What should you do if you fall? While it is important, of course, to get photographs and witness names and phone numbers, that is not always feasible when you are badly hurt. However,

  1. Do not attempt to hobble home. Call 911 to report the accident and get an ambulance and emergency medical aid.
  2. Try to ask someone to get names and numbers of witnesses and photos of the condition that made you fall.
  3. Get immediate legal advice.

There are a lot of traps out there for the unwary, including NYC’s internet portal to file a “Notice of Claim” for injuries due to a trip and fall on a broken City sidewalk. The site is MISLEADING.

For starters, the City erroneously writes that you can start a lawsuit after 1 year and 90 days. That is incorrect. if you don’t start your personal injury lawsuit within 1 year and 90 days, you will be barred from doing so. Wrongful death cases have a different statute of limitations.

Don’t relinquish your rights. If you are hurt in a trip and fall or slip and fall you may be justly entitled under the law to compensation for your injuries, pain, suffering, medical costs, and lost wages.

Do you have questions? Call us at 212-227-4000. We can guide you through the legal maze so you don’t forfeit your rights and fall victim first to an accident and then to New York City’s deceptive websites. And, as always, be safe.

Initial consultations are free, and we work on a contingency fee basis, which means, if you do not receive compensation for your injuries, we get no fee.