Slip and Fall Lawyer in Queens, NY

A fall case looks simple and rarely is. The injury is not the hard part — notice is. You must show the owner created the condition, knew about it, or that it was visible and apparent and had existed long enough that a reasonable inspection would have found it.

That is why the right question for an attorney is procedural, not sympathetic: what will you do in the first two weeks? A good answer includes a written preservation demand for video, a request for the store's sweep log or the building's porter log, and identification of the correct owner.

The Queens specifics:

• Sidewalks. NYC Administrative Code § 7-210 shifts responsibility for sidewalk maintenance to the abutting property owner, with a narrow exception for owner-occupied one-to-three-family homes — a common ownership pattern in Queens, so the exception genuinely matters here.
• Snow and ice. Administrative Code § 16-123 governs the time allowed to clear snow after a snowfall ends; the storm in progress doctrine gives a reasonable period before liability attaches.
• Buildings. Interior stair, lobby and hallway falls engage the Multiple Dwelling Law and Housing Maintenance Code on lighting, handrails and stair dimensions.
• Public defendants. Against the City, NYCHA, the MTA or the Transit Authority: notice of claim within 90 days (GML § 50-e), a § 50-h hearing, and suit within one year and 90 days.
• Otherwise, three years for personal injury (CPLR 214), two years for wrongful death.
• Pure comparative negligence under CPLR 1411 — partial fault reduces, never bars, the claim.

Cases are filed in Supreme Court, Queens County, 88-11 Sutphin Boulevard, Jamaica. General information, not legal advice.

Nothing at the start. New York injury attorneys are paid on contingency — a percentage of the recovery and nothing if there is none. One-third of the net recovery is the customary arrangement in New York personal injury matters.

The variables that determine the net:

• The stage at which the case resolves
• Case expenses: engineering and code experts, friction or lighting testing, site inspection, medical narratives, deposition transcripts, index and filing fees
• Whether expenses are deducted before or after the fee
• Liens: health insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, workers' compensation
• Available coverage on the property, including excess layers on commercial buildings
• Municipal defendants and their added procedure

Read the expense paragraph of the retainer closely — that is where two otherwise identical agreements differ. Our consultation and referral cost nothing.

Because on a two-family house in Queens the § 7-210 exception may put responsibility back on the City, and getting that analysis wrong at the start is not something you can fix later.

• Free consultation; the referral costs you nothing.
• Available 24/7 at (800) 669-0060.
• English, Spanish, and Russian.
• Over 30 years matching injured people with attorneys across New York and New Jersey.
• Local case experience in Queens County.
• Continued involvement after the introduction.

Attorneys in Michael Brook's network raise the same practical point about Queens sidewalk falls: confirm the building class and whether it is owner-occupied before deciding whom to sue. That single check determines whether the defendant is the homeowner or the City, and the City's clock runs in 90 days.

Disclaimer: Michael Brook Attorney Referral is not a law firm and provides no legal representation or legal advice. This is general information and does not replace advice from a licensed attorney about your specific situation. No result is guaranteed.