Property Owners Have a Duty to Keep You Safe. When They Fail, We Hold Them Accountable
Premises Liability and the Notice Requirement in New York
New York premises liability law requires property owners, landlords, stores, and municipalities to maintain reasonably safe conditions. When they fail and someone is hurt, they face liability. The pivotal question in almost every slip-and-fall case is notice: did the owner know, or should they have known, about the dangerous condition before you fell? Actual notice means they knew. Constructive notice means the condition existed long enough that a reasonable inspection would have found it. In ice and snow cases, NYC has a specific storm-in-progress rule: owners get a reasonable time to clear after a storm ends before liability attaches. For falls on city sidewalks, you have 90 days to file a Notice of Claim under General Municipal Law §50-e. For private property, the standard three-year limitations period under CPLR 214 applies.
What you need to know
Plain-English answers to the questions that come up most often on these cases.
Premises Liability Duty of Care
Property owners owe a duty of reasonable care to people on their property. Stores, landlords, restaurants, parking lots, and private homeowners all face potential liability when a dangerous condition injures a visitor. The duty extends to making reasonable inspections.
Read moreActual vs. Constructive Notice
Actual notice: the owner knew about the hazard. Constructive notice: the hazard existed long enough that a reasonable owner should have discovered it. Proving notice often comes down to incident reports, surveillance video, inspection logs, and prior complaint records.
Read moreIce, Snow & the Storm-in-Progress Rule
New York courts give property owners a reasonable time to clear snow and ice after a storm ends. But if ice predates the storm, or if the owner created the icy condition by improper snow removal, liability can still attach. We investigate the weather data and maintenance records.
Read moreCity Sidewalk Notice of Claim
Falls on NYC sidewalks adjacent to city property require a Notice of Claim within 90 days under General Municipal Law §50-e. You then have one year and 90 days to file suit. Private property sidewalk falls follow the standard three-year rule under CPLR 214.
Read moreComparative Negligence
New York follows pure comparative negligence. If you were 30% at fault for your fall, you recover 70% of your damages. We fight back against attempts to assign you excessive blame through testimony about your footwear, distraction, or familiarity with the area.
Read moreDocumenting the Scene
Surveillance footage is often overwritten within 30 to 72 hours. We send evidence preservation letters immediately. We also gather incident reports, maintenance logs, prior complaints about the same condition, and expert testimony on building codes and safety standards.
Read moreHow we handle these cases
Step 1
Send an immediate evidence preservation letter to secure surveillance footage before it is deleted.
Step 2
Obtain maintenance logs, inspection records, and any prior complaints about the same hazard.
Step 3
Pull weather data, salt application records, and contractor maintenance contracts for ice and snow cases.
Step 4
Retain premises liability experts to testify on industry safety standards and code violations.
Step 5
Counter comparative negligence arguments with evidence about the condition, lighting, and signage.
Real cases. Real results.
Three recent Personal Injury outcomes — case context and result. No client identifying information.
Notice established through records, prior complaints, or the duration of the dangerous condition.
Surveillance and documentary evidence secured before it can be overwritten or destroyed.
Full damages recovered including medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering.
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Each case is evaluated on its own facts. The case outcomes shown are representative examples; details have been altered or generalized to protect client confidentiality.
Related questions
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