I Slipped On An Icy Sidewalk In A Residential Neighborhood And Broke My Ankle. Who Can I Sue?
When a person is injured as a result of a defective condition on a public sidewalk, who they can proceed against to recover monetary damages will depend on where they are New York State. This is because who is responsible for maintaining a public sidewalk depends upon the laws of the municipality (for example, the local ordinances of the City of Buffalo) where the injury occurred.
If there is no local ordinance regarding who is responsible for maintenance of public sidewalks, then the municipality is responsible for ensuring that sidewalks are properly maintained. In this situation, the municipality may be sued when an injury occurs on a defective sidewalk.
When there is a local ordinance in place requiring property owners to maintain the public sidewalks abutting their property, who is liable becomes a little more difficult to determine. If the ordinance merely states that the property owner is responsible for maintaining the sidewalk, this is not enough for the property owner to be held liable should a personal injury occur. Instead, the ordinance must specifically state that if the property owner fails to maintain the sidewalk, he or she is subject to liability should an injury occur.
A property owner may also be liable under certain other circumstances, such as having created the defective condition of the sidewalk that led to the injury. If you have suffered an injury in a fall and have questions about what to do, please feel free to call my office 716-542-5444. We would be happy to help you.