New York City Slip-and-Fall Lawyer

Injured in a slip-and-fall accident in New York City, NY? Our skilled slip-and-fall attorneys in NYC can help you recover financial compensation after a slip, trip, or fall on someone else’s property.

One wrong step on a slick lobby floor, an icy stoop, or a crumbling staircase can leave you with months of medical bills, missed paychecks, and questions no one at the ER can answer. Meanwhile, the property owner’s insurer already has a team working to minimize what you are owed.

At Grigor Law Injury & Car Accident Lawyers, we represent injured New Yorkers in slip-and-fall and premises liability cases across the city, Long Island, and Westchester.

Our New York City slip-and-fall lawyers investigate the hazard, pin down every party legally responsible, and pursue the full value of your injuries, lost income, and long-term care. When an insurance company refuses to pay what your case is worth, our trial attorneys are ready to put it in front of a jury. Contact us today for a free consultation with our legal team.

Why Hire Our Attorneys After a Slip, Trip, or Fall in NYC?

After a fall, the property owner’s insurance company moves fast, and not in your favor. Their adjusters are trained to get statements that damage your claim and push settlements that protect their bottom line, not your future.

At Grigor Law, founded in 2015 by Chrissy Grigoropoulos, Esq., we serve clients across all five boroughs, Long Island, and Westchester County from our offices in Ridgewood, The Bronx, and Hempstead. We handle every case on a contingency-fee basis, with no attorney fees unless we recover for you.

• Trial-Ready Representation: Insurance companies know we take cases to verdict when offers are unfair, and that changes how they negotiate from day one.

• We Come to You: If your injuries prevent you from traveling, we send an experienced New York City slip-and-fall attorney to your home or hospital.

• Free Consultations 24/7: Call (718) 249-7447. No upfront costs, no risk.

Do You Have a Valid Slip-and-Fall Claim in New York?

Slip-and-fall cases fall under premises liability law, which holds property owners legally responsible for dangerous conditions on their property. To recover compensation, you must prove the owner was negligent, meaning they failed their legal duty to keep the space reasonably safe.

Your claim must establish one of three types of notice:

• Actual Notice: The owner knew about the hazard before your fall.

• Constructive Notice: The hazard existed long enough that a reasonable owner should have discovered and fixed it.

• Created the Condition: The owner or an employee directly caused the dangerous condition.

Simply falling on someone else’s property is not enough. We must connect the owner’s failure directly to your injury.

Who Is Liable for Your Slip-and-Fall in NYC?

Under NYC Administrative Code § 7-210, the property owner adjacent to a sidewalk, not the City, is responsible for keeping it safe. This includes repairing cracked or uneven pavement and clearing snow or ice within four hours after a storm ends, not counting hours between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m.

The Residential Exception and Who You Can Sue

An important exception applies to owners of one-, two-, or three-family homes who live on the property. They are generally exempt from sidewalk liability, which can make the City of New York the potential defendant. This exception does not extend to apartment buildings, commercial properties, or mixed-use spaces.

City and MTA Claims and Notice of Claim Deadlines

Falls on city-owned property, such as parks, government buildings, subway stations, or city-maintained sidewalks, come with far tighter deadlines. You have only 90 days to file a Notice of Claim against the City or MTA, and just one year and 90 days to file your lawsuit. Call us immediately if a government entity is involved, because missing these deadlines can permanently bar your right to recover.

One pattern our New York City slip-and-fall lawyers consistently see in snow and ice falls is a dispute over whether the four-hour clearing window had actually run.

National Weather Service data from Central Park and LaGuardia Airport, combined with building staff schedules and photos taken that morning, often show the storm ended well before the fall and nobody returned to salt the walk.

We gather that timeline early, because owners and their snow removal contractors routinely claim the storm was still in progress.

What Damages Can You Recover After a Slip and Fall?

New York law allows you to seek two types of compensation: economic damages, which cover direct financial losses, and non-economic damages, which compensate for the personal toll the injury has taken on your life.

Economic Damages	Non-Economic Damages
Medical bills (past and future)	Pain and suffering
Lost wages	Mental anguish
Loss of future earning capacity	Loss of enjoyment of life
Rehabilitation and therapy costs	Disfigurement and scarring
Out-of-pocket expenses

We evaluate every dimension of your losses, benchmarking your claim against New York and federal case law, before a single negotiation begins.

What If You Were Partly at Fault for Your Fall?

New York is a pure comparative negligence state, which means your partial fault does not disqualify your claim. If you are found 20% responsible, your total award is simply reduced by 20%, and you still collect the remaining 80%. You have the right to recover no matter how much fault is assigned to you.

Common Causes of Slip-and-Fall Accidents in NYC

New York City’s aging infrastructure, heavy foot traffic, and unpredictable weather create hazards on nearly every block. Property owners are legally required to keep their premises safe from conditions like:

• Wet or slippery floors in grocery stores, bodegas, and building lobbies.

• Cracked, broken, or uneven sidewalk pavement.

• Uncleared snow and ice on walkways.

• Poorly lit stairwells in walk-up apartments and subway stations.

• Loose rugs, mats, or torn carpeting.

• Broken or missing handrails.

• Spilled liquids and debris in store aisles.

• Deteriorating surfaces in parking garages and lots.

Slip-and-Fall Injuries We Handle

A serious fall can put you out of work for months, require multiple surgeries, or result in permanent disability. We connect our clients with top New York medical specialists and fight for compensation that accounts for both current and future medical needs.

Injuries we regularly handle include:

• Hip, wrist, and ankle fractures.

• Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) and concussions.

• Herniated discs and spinal cord damage.

• Torn ligaments, including ACL and MCL tears.

• Rotator cuff and shoulder injuries.

• Severe lacerations and permanent scarring.

• Soft-tissue sprains and strains.

What we see across the slip-and-fall claims we handle in New York City is that subway stair falls at crowded stations like Times Square and Grand Central often involve worn or broken stair nosings, with no store manager or building super on site to write an incident report.

Because these claims run against New York City Transit, the 90-day Notice of Claim deadline applies, and station maintenance records become the key evidence. Our New York City slip-and-fall attorneys file the notice and request those records immediately so the hazard can be proven.

What to Do After a Slip and Fall in New York City

Report the Incident and Get Medical Care

Notify the property owner, manager, or an employee about your fall and request a written incident report. See a doctor the same day. Your treatment records directly tie your injuries to the incident, which is critical evidence in your claim.

Document the Scene Before It Changes

Use your phone to photograph the hazard before it is cleaned up or repaired and collect the names and contact information of any witnesses. Take note of nearby security cameras, because surveillance footage is often overwritten within 24 to 72 hours.

Don’t Give a Recorded Statement to the Insurance Company

The property owner’s insurer will contact you quickly and request a recorded statement. Decline. Adjusters are trained to ask leading questions designed to minimize your injuries or shift blame onto you, so let our team handle all communications from the moment you hire us.

How We Build Your Slip-and-Fall Case

We send legal preservation letters immediately, demanding that surveillance footage, maintenance logs, cleaning schedules, and incident reports be saved before evidence disappears. We then interview witnesses while memories are fresh and collect your medical records to document every injury and its long-term impact.

Once we have the full picture, we identify every liable party, whether a property owner, building manager, contractor, or government agency, so no source of recovery is left unexplored. We calculate your total damages, negotiate from strength, and take cases to trial when insurers refuse to pay what your case is worth. That readiness is what insurance companies respect, and it shows in our results.

“Chrissy and her team worked on my case 24/7. They have been wonderful from the day they took my case until the end. Always polite, excellent coordination and communication skills and always making sure you feel you are in the best hands and treated uniquely. I highly recommend this office as my settlement was excellent and the results were beyond expected.” – Dimitris

How Long Do You Have to File a Slip-and-Fall Lawsuit in New York?

For most falls on private property in New York, the statute of limitations, the legal deadline to file a lawsuit, gives you three years from the date of the accident. For claims involving the City of New York or the MTA, a Notice of Claim must be served within 90 days, and your lawsuit must be filed within one year and 90 days. These deadlines begin the day you fell, not when you receive a diagnosis.

Don’t let the deadline pass. Call (718) 249-7447 today.

Contact a New York City Slip-and-Fall Lawyer Today

Don’t sign anything or accept a settlement offer until you’ve spoken with our team. Call Grigor Law at (718) 249-7447 for a free consultation. We’re available 24/7 and will send an attorney to you if you can’t travel. Our offices in Ridgewood, The Bronx, and Hempstead serve clients throughout all five boroughs, Long Island, and Westchester County.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I Need an Incident Report to File a Slip-and-Fall Claim in New York?

No. While an incident report is useful, your claim can still be proven through photos, witness testimony, and property maintenance records even without one.

What If There Was No Security Camera That Captured My Fall?

Video footage is helpful but not required. Witness accounts, photos of the hazard, and records showing how long the dangerous condition existed are often sufficient to establish negligence.

Can I File a Claim If I Fell at a Friend’s or Family Member’s Home?

Yes. These claims are typically paid by the homeowner’s insurance policy rather than out of your loved one’s pocket, so pursuing compensation usually does not create a financial burden on them.

Does the Storm-in-Progress Rule Apply to Snow and Ice Slip-and-Fall Cases?

Property owners are generally not liable for falls that occur while a storm is still in progress, but they must clear snow and ice within a reasonable time after it ends. In New York City, the Administrative Code sets that window at four hours, not counting the hours between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m.

Will Giving a Recorded Statement to an Insurance Adjuster Hurt My Claim?

It can. Adjusters use recorded statements to shift blame onto you or undermine your injuries, so decline politely and contact us before making any statement.

Can I Sue If the Property Owner Fixed the Hazard Right After My Fall?

Yes. Repairs made after your fall generally cannot be used to prove the owner was negligent, which is why we act immediately to preserve evidence of the hazard as it existed when you fell.

Can I File Both a Workers’ Compensation Claim and a Slip-and-Fall Lawsuit?

In many cases, yes. If a negligent third party such as a building owner or contractor caused your fall at work, you may be entitled to pursue a personal injury lawsuit alongside your workers’ compensation claim.

How Does Comparative Negligence Apply If I Was Distracted When I Fell?

Even if you were distracted, New York’s pure comparative negligence law still allows you to recover. Your total award is reduced by your percentage of fault, but your right to compensation remains intact.