Can Someone Sue You in Queens If He/She Slip on Your Sidewalk?

According to the labor law in NYC, building owners or their managing agents may be held answerable for the contractors’ job injuries. The legislation was formed in 1885 in order to give protection to construction workers who faced greater dangers as the buildings in New York started to take an upward climb. The measure held contractors and the building owners responsible for ensuring the safety of the laborers working several feet above the ground.

The Scaffold law in New York

The law today applies not just to those workers who are working on high-rise buildings instead those who are working on bridges, high elevations, ladders, scaffolding, or other similar tools to do their jobs are also covered by the law. Stated below are few examples that resulted in an insurance claim or lawsuit under the Scaffold Law in New York:

• A worker sustained injuries after falling from a roof while removing snow and ice.
• A maintenance worker fell from a ladder while repairing ceiling insulation.
• A carpenter who was working on a ceiling was injured after falling from four-foot stilts.

In the above examples, the property owners were held responsible for the injuries. If anyone hires a contractor, section 240 of New York Labor Law requires them to provide proper protection.

Does slipping on a sidewalk leads to legal action?

If someone is walking on your sidewalk and they slip while doing so, then they can take legal action and sue you for falling in Queens, NY. The city requires all the building owners, irrespective of the fact that what kind it is, to maintain their sidewalks to avoid severe injuries to people using them.

The DOT’s website clearly states: “Section 7-210 of the New York City Administrative Code makes property owners potentially liable for personal injuries caused by their failure to maintain reasonably safe sidewalks.” If you think that your sidewalk does not fulfill the code criteria, you better notice and start filling up those cracks.

Dismissal request for violation

Quite often, property owners never receive a violation, or a violation was issued years ago, and there is no record of any kind of repair. In such cases, the owners are usually unaware of such violations and only come to know about them when they are about to sell their property. The sidewalks are no longer damaged; however, it can cause a delay in closing the deal.

Suppose the sidewalk is not damaged and the violation is for old damage. In that case, The DOT’s Highway Inspections & Quality Assurance (HIQA) should be contacted immediately, and a request for inspection must be put forward. The inspectors will go out to inspect the repaired sidewalk for any kind of damage or cracks.

If everything is clear according to the protocol, then they will issue a dismissal notice. It is essential that before inspection, the owner makes sure that there is no damage at all; otherwise, a new violation would be issued.

According to local sidewalk contractors Queen, there are two main ways to get your sidewalk violation dismissed: the incorrect owner defense and the re-inspection defense.

• If you are not the actual owner of the building, then you are not the right person for the DOT to talk to. That means you won’t be held liable for the repairs. Your case may be dismissed so that the violation can be handed off to somebody else.
• If you inspect your own property and believe the inspector to be in error, you can request a re-inspection. If the new inspection proves that there is no violation, then your case may be dismissed.

Reasons to choose us in Queens

• Top Rated

We have been in the market for over 25 years and have done numerous sidewalk projects in and around New York. Our quality work is our best advertisement. We are a team of professionals with the best-skilled manpower. With 100% customer satisfaction, we are proud to represent ourselves as accredited full-service company.

• Best Quality

When it comes to quality, we settle for nothing but the best. We have skilled manpower who are equipped with all the latest machinery which makes the work accurate.  The longevity of your sidewalk and durability remains our best on-site advertisement and reference.

• Low Price

We are offering different budgets to different clients depending on the work they need. Whatever the task is, we make sure to give our clients the best price possible.