The law that applies to your claim
Where people fall here
The retail concentration downtown and along Central Park Avenue. Multi-level parking garages, where oil, water and poor lighting combine. The Metro-North station approaches and stairs during commuter hours. Apartment and office lobbies, and the sidewalks along Mamaroneck Avenue and Main Street after a freeze.
Footage is the case, and it is perishable
Nearly every commercial property here is covered by cameras, and most systems overwrite within days or weeks. A preservation demand sent immediately is often the difference between proving the condition existed and arguing about it.
What has to be proved
Notice — that the owner created the condition, knew of it, or should have found it on reasonable inspection. The storm-in-progress rule and the rest of the framework are on our New York slip and fall page.
Winter here is a specific problem
Westchester gets freeze-thaw cycles rather than continuous cold. Snow melts during the day, runs across sidewalks and garage decks, and refreezes overnight into clear ice. That is the condition behind most serious winter falls in this city.
It also makes weather records genuinely decisive: whether the storm had ended, how long the property had to act, and whether the ice came from a melt-and-refreeze rather than the storm itself.
If you fell on public property, the clock is 90 days
City sidewalks, county buildings, the courthouse approaches, transit property and school grounds are public. A claim generally requires a notice of claim within 90 days under General Municipal Law §50-e.
Sidewalk responsibility is also frequently shifted to the adjoining property owner by local ordinance, which means both the municipality and the owner may need to be addressed. That has to be sorted out immediately, not at leisure.
What to do now
Report it and get a copy of the report. Photograph the condition, the lighting and the footwear you were wearing, before anything is cleaned or repaired. Get the names of anyone who saw it. And see a doctor promptly — a delay is the first thing an insurer will point to.
How long you have to act
- Three years from the date of the accident for most negligence claims (CPLR §214).
- Two years for wrongful death (EPTL §5-4.1).
- 90 days to serve a notice of claim where a city, county, school district, transit authority or other public body is involved (General Municipal Law §50-e), with suit generally within one year and 90 days.
The 90-day rule is the one that quietly ends otherwise strong cases. If a public entity may be involved, that is the first thing to check — not the last.
What it costs
Nothing up front. These cases are handled on contingency: there is no fee unless we win, and the consultation is free. You will be told the percentage and how expenses are handled, in writing, before you sign anything.
Common questions
I did not report it that day.
It makes the claim harder, not impossible. Prompt medical records, photographs and witnesses can establish what happened.
The store says they inspect hourly.
Then the sweep log should show it. Whether the log was actually kept, and whether it was followed on the day, is often where these cases turn.
I slipped in a parking garage.
Garages involve the owner, the operator and sometimes a maintenance contractor. The lease and management agreement usually determine who owed the duty.
