New York City Trip & Fall Accident Lawyer

Sidewalks buckle. Floors go unmopped. Stairs lose their handrails. Property owners in New York City have a legal duty to maintain reasonably safe conditions for people who walk through their spaces, and when they fail, the consequences can be devastating. A New York City trip and fall accident lawyer handles the complicated work of holding those property owners accountable, from identifying who controlled the dangerous condition to building the evidence needed to prove they knew about it and did nothing.

Trip and fall claims in New York are harder than they look. The city’s Comptroller requires formal notice for claims against municipal property within 90 days of the accident. Private property cases carry their own deadlines. Surveillance footage disappears within days. Insurance adjusters begin building their defense immediately. The injured person, meanwhile, is dealing with a fractured wrist, a torn ligament, or worse, and is often the last one thinking about legal strategy. That imbalance is exactly why prompt legal attention matters.

At Mark David Shirian P.C., attorneys Mark D. Shirian and Shawn D. Shirian represent people across New York City who were hurt because someone else failed to maintain safe property. The firm has recovered millions for its clients across a range of serious injury cases, and it brings that same assertive, detail-focused approach to every trip and fall matter it handles.

What Mark David Shirian P.C. Brings to Trip and Fall Cases in New York

Founded in 2016 by Attorney Mark D. Shirian, the firm was built on a clear purpose: helping people who have been wronged. Clients who have worked with the firm consistently describe an attorney who pays close attention to details that matter in their case, who works hard toward the outcome they are seeking, and who keeps them informed throughout the process. Those qualities are not incidental in a trip and fall case. They are the difference between winning and losing.

Trip and fall litigation turns on specifics. The exact dimensions of a sidewalk crack. The precise time a wet floor went without a warning sign. Whether a landlord received prior written notice of a defect. Missing or misreading any of those details can derail a claim. The firm’s reputation for thorough preparation and assertive advocacy means clients are not left guessing about where their case stands. With millions recovered for New York clients across personal injury and related practice areas, the firm brings real litigation experience to a practice area where insurance companies routinely undervalue claims and minimize injuries.

Common Causes of Trip and Fall Accidents Across New York City

• Broken or uneven sidewalks: New York City property owners, including the City itself, are responsible for maintaining adjoining sidewalks. Tree root damage, frost heaving, and long-deferred repairs are among the most common culprits in pedestrian trip and fall injuries across all five boroughs.
• Wet or slippery floors inside commercial buildings: Grocery stores, office lobbies, subway station entrances, and shopping centers regularly produce wet floor claims. Liability often hinges on how long the hazard existed before the fall and whether staff had actual or constructive notice of the condition.
• Defective stairs and handrails: Apartment buildings, restaurants, and transit facilities with crumbling stair edges, missing nosings, or wobbly railings create serious fall risks. New York’s multiple dwelling laws impose specific maintenance obligations on residential building owners.
• Inadequate lighting in common areas: Poorly lit hallways, parking garages, and building entrances contribute to trip and fall incidents that might never have occurred with functioning fixtures. Landlords who ignore lighting complaints face meaningful exposure when someone is hurt as a result.
• Debris and obstacles in walkways: Construction sites, retail storerooms with misplaced merchandise, and building lobbies cluttered with equipment create tripping hazards that are entirely preventable. High construction activity in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens makes this a particularly common category.
• Ice and snow accumulation: New York law gives property owners a reasonable period after a storm to clear walkways. When owners ignore that obligation entirely, or when ice refreezes after negligent removal efforts, falls can result in serious fractures and head injuries.
• Raised or torn carpet and flooring transitions: Hotels, restaurants, and multi-unit residential buildings with deteriorating floor surfaces create invisible hazards for visitors who have no reason to expect the ground underfoot to give way.

After a Fall in New York City: What Actually Needs to Happen

The first priority is medical care. Trip and fall injuries, especially those involving the head, spine, or joints, do not always present their full severity immediately. Adrenaline masks pain. Soft tissue damage takes days to swell and stiffen. Seeing a physician or going to an emergency room right away does two things at once: it protects health, and it creates a contemporaneous medical record that links the injury to the fall. Gaps between a fall and a first medical visit become arguments for the defense.

Photograph everything before leaving the scene if at all possible. The broken tile, the wet floor, the missing sign, the poorly lit stairwell. Take wide shots showing the full context and close shots showing the specific defect. Get the names and contact information of any witnesses. If the fall happened inside a business, request that an incident report be completed and ask for a copy. Do not sign anything the property owner or its staff hands you before speaking with a trip and fall attorney in New York City.

Reporting obligations and deadlines in New York vary depending on who owns the property. Claims against New York City or any of its agencies, including claims involving City-owned sidewalks, subway stations operated by the MTA, or parks, require a formal Notice of Claim filed with the relevant municipal entity within 90 days of the accident. Missing that deadline can permanently bar a claim. Personal injury lawsuits against private property owners in New York generally must be filed within three years of the accident date, but this is a general reference and specific circumstances can affect that window. An attorney should assess the applicable deadlines in any individual case without delay.

If the fall occurred in a New York City Housing Authority building, a municipal park, a school, or on a City street, the legal process runs through different channels than a standard private property claim. Cases involving the MTA are handled through their own claims process. The New York County Supreme Court, Kings County Supreme Court, and their counterparts across the boroughs handle the underlying personal injury litigation if a case does not settle. Knowing which venue applies and how those courts handle premises liability cases is part of what competent legal representation brings to the table.

How New York Law Shapes What Your Trip and Fall Case Is Actually Worth

New York follows a comparative fault system. A jury can find that the injured person bears some percentage of responsibility for the accident, and any damages award is reduced by that percentage. Property owners and their insurers use this aggressively, arguing that the plaintiff was distracted, wore inappropriate footwear, or should have noticed an obvious hazard. How effectively those arguments are challenged depends on the quality of the evidence gathered and how the case is presented.

Damages in a serious trip and fall case extend well beyond emergency room bills. Orthopedic surgery, physical therapy, follow-up imaging, lost wages during recovery, reduced earning capacity if the injury causes lasting impairment, and pain and suffering are all part of what a complete damages calculation looks like. Hip fractures in older adults, traumatic brain injuries from a forward fall, and torn ligaments requiring surgical repair are injuries that can reshape a person’s life entirely. Settling too early, before the full extent of injury is understood, is one of the most costly mistakes an injured person can make.

Property owners are required to carry liability insurance, and those insurers have experienced claims teams and defense attorneys working from the moment a claim is filed. A New York City trip and fall attorney who handles premises liability cases with the same level of preparation and advocacy brings balance to that dynamic. The firm’s approach at Mark David Shirian P.C. is to assess the situation carefully, understand what the client needs going forward, and build a strategy from there rather than pushing toward a fast resolution that shortchanges the claim.

Questions People Ask About Trip and Fall Cases in New York

How do I prove that a property owner is responsible for my fall?

New York premises liability law generally requires showing that the owner created the dangerous condition, had actual notice of it, or had constructive notice, meaning the condition existed long enough that a reasonable owner exercising ordinary care would have discovered and fixed it. Evidence like maintenance logs, prior complaints, surveillance video, and witness accounts all play a role.

What if I fell on a New York City sidewalk? Is the City responsible?

New York City law places responsibility for sidewalk maintenance primarily on the adjacent property owner in most cases. There are exceptions for certain property types. Separately, claims against the City itself require a Notice of Claim filed within 90 days of the accident. The analysis of who bears liability can involve multiple parties and should be handled carefully from the start.

What kind of compensation can I recover from a trip and fall claim?

Recoverable damages typically include medical expenses, both past and projected future costs, lost income, diminished earning capacity if the injury affects long-term employment, and pain and suffering. In some cases involving egregious conduct by the property owner, additional damages may be available. The value of any specific claim depends on the nature and severity of the injury and the facts surrounding the fall.

How long will my trip and fall case take to resolve?

Cases involving clear liability and well-documented injuries can resolve through settlement in months. Cases that go to litigation in New York courts, particularly in high-volume boroughs like Bronx or Brooklyn, may take considerably longer depending on court calendars and the complexity of the dispute. Cases against municipal entities have additional procedural stages that extend the timeline.

Should I speak with the property owner’s insurance company before hiring an attorney?

That conversation carries real risk. Insurance adjusters are trained to elicit statements that minimize the insured’s liability or reduce the claimant’s perceived damages. Speaking with legal representation first allows you to understand how those conversations can affect your claim before they happen.

I fell at a grocery store in Queens and they asked me to sign an incident report. Do I have to?

You are not required to sign any document a business provides after a fall. Participating in an incident report is generally reasonable, but review anything carefully before signing. Statements you make in that moment, particularly about how you feel physically, can later be used to suggest your injuries are minor. Consult an attorney before providing any formal recorded or written statements.

What if I was wearing sandals or looking at my phone when I fell? Does that hurt my case?

It may affect the comparative fault calculation, but it does not automatically bar a claim. New York’s comparative fault approach means responsibility can be shared. The critical question is whether a dangerous property condition contributed to the fall. If the defect was significant and the owner failed to address it, the claim may still have substantial value even if the injured person bears some portion of fault.

Can I still recover damages if I fell at a friend’s or family member’s home?

Homeowners and renters carry liability insurance for exactly this type of situation. A personal injury claim arising from a fall at a private residence is typically resolved through that insurance policy. Bringing a claim does not necessarily mean suing a friend personally; it often means pursuing the coverage that policy provides.

What happens if the surveillance footage that could prove my case gets deleted?

Once a potential claim exists, property owners and their insurers have an obligation to preserve relevant evidence, including video. Attorneys can send preservation letters demanding that footage be retained. If footage is destroyed after a preservation obligation attaches, courts can instruct juries to draw adverse inferences against the property owner. Prompt legal action is the best way to ensure this evidence does not disappear.

Do trip and fall cases in New York typically go to trial?

The majority of personal injury cases, including trip and fall claims, resolve before trial. However, a willingness to take a case to verdict is part of what creates real settlement leverage. Property owners and insurers negotiate more seriously when they know the opposing attorney has the preparation and litigation experience to take a case all the way.

Trip and Fall Injury Representation Across New York City and Beyond

Mark David Shirian P.C. represents trip and fall clients throughout the five boroughs and across New York State. In Manhattan, the firm handles cases arising from incidents in Midtown, the Financial District, the Upper West Side, Harlem, and Washington Heights, covering everything from commercial property claims to falls on residential stoops. In Brooklyn, the firm serves clients from Park Slope, Crown Heights, Bay Ridge, Flatbush, Williamsburg, Bushwick, Bed-Stuy, and Sunset Park. Queens clients from Jackson Heights, Flushing, Jamaica, Astoria, Long Island City, Elmhurst, and Ridgewood turn to the firm for premises liability representation.

The Bronx practice covers Riverdale, Fordham, Mott Haven, Pelham Bay, and surrounding communities. Staten Island clients from St. George, New Dorp, and Tottenville are also served. Outside the city, the firm represents clients in Nassau County, Suffolk County, Westchester County, and other communities across New York State where serious trip and fall injuries have occurred on negligently maintained property.

Speak with a New York City Trip and Fall Attorney About Your Case

A serious fall injury changes daily life in ways that accumulate quickly, from mounting medical bills to missed workdays to a recovery that may take months or never fully complete. Working with a New York City trip and fall attorney who approaches your case with the same rigor a large firm brings while treating you as an individual rather than a file number makes a genuine difference in how those cases develop and conclude.

Mark David Shirian P.C. offers confidential case evaluations for people injured in trip and fall accidents anywhere in New York City or across the state. Attorneys Mark D. Shirian and Shawn D. Shirian are prepared to assess your situation, explain what the legal process looks like for your specific circumstances, and give you an honest picture of your options. There is no obligation, and the sooner the conversation happens, the more options remain available.