Slip and Fall Lawyers in Queens, NY

Queens is the largest borough in New York City by area, and it holds an enormous range of places to get hurt: icy stairs at an elevated subway station in Jackson Heights, a crowded sidewalk on Main Street in Flushing, a wet floor in a Jamaica Avenue store, or a broken step outside a two-family house in Middle Village. When a fall like that leaves you injured, the question is not only whether the property was unsafe. It is also who controlled it, what notice they had, and which deadline governs your claim.

At Mark E. Seitelman Law Offices, we have served Queens clients for more than 30 years. Our founder, Mark E. Seitelman, has handled more than 10,000 client matters and spent six years working for one of the City’s leading insurance defense firms before devoting his practice to injured people. He knows how property insurers evaluate a fall claim because he once helped them do it.

Our consultations are free, and we take fall cases on contingency, which means you owe no legal fee unless we recover money for you. Below, we explain how premises liability law applies to falls across the borough. You can also read about our broader Queens personal injury practice or our citywide NYC slip and fall representation.

Queens Slip and Fall Cases We Handle

No two Queens neighborhoods look alike, and the hazards change from one to the next. These are the settings that produce most of the fall claims we review.

Shopping Corridors and Malls

Main Street in Flushing, Roosevelt Avenue, Steinway Street in Astoria, Austin Street in Forest Hills, and Jamaica Avenue carry some of the heaviest foot traffic in the city. Spilled liquids in supermarkets, freshly mopped tile with no warning cone, torn floor mats at store entrances, and broken sidewalk flags in front of busy storefronts are common causes. Indoor malls such as Queens Center add escalators, food courts and polished floors to the list.

Elevated Subway Stairs and Platforms

Several Queens subway lines run on elevated tracks, including the 7 line over Roosevelt Avenue and Queens Boulevard and the N and W lines in Astoria. Elevated station stairs are exposed to rain, snow and ice, and worn treads, missing nosings and broken handrails create serious fall risks. Claims involving these stations run against NYC Transit and carry their own notice requirements.

Homes, Co-ops and Garden Apartments

Bayside, Whitestone, Middle Village, Howard Beach and many other neighborhoods are lined with one- and two-family homes, while Forest Hills, Rego Park, Kew Gardens and Jackson Heights have large co-op and rental buildings. Falls happen on uneven front walks, unlit basement stairs, slippery lobby floors and courtyard paths that were never properly drained.

Boardwalks, Parks and Public Schools

The Rockaway boardwalk, neighborhood parks such as Forest Park and Cunningham Park, and public school buildings are City property. A fall in any of these places brings in the strict notice rules that apply to claims against New York City.

JFK and LaGuardia Airports

Falls in airport terminals can involve the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, private terminal operators, airlines and cleaning contractors. Suits against the Port Authority are subject to statutory conditions, including a notice of claim served at least 60 days before suit and a lawsuit filed within one year, as the Appellate Division applied in Tutor Perini Building Corp. v Port Authority (2023). Airport cases call for prompt review.

Winter Falls on Queens Sidewalks and Steps

Snow and ice cause a large share of Queens fall cases, especially on the long residential blocks where each property owner is responsible for a stretch of sidewalk. The Department of Sanitation publishes the clearing windows owners must meet.

Under NYC Administrative Code §16-123, property owners are required to clear snow and ice from abutting sidewalks within four hours after a snowfall ceases (excluding hours between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m.). For operational enforcement, the Department of Sanitation applies specific time-of-day winter clearing windows: if snow stops falling between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m., owners must clear sidewalks within 4 hours; if it stops between 5 p.m. and 9 p.m., they have until 11 a.m. the following morning (or 14 hours); and if it stops between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m., sidewalks must be cleared by 11 a.m.

Those windows matter in a lawsuit. A property owner who leaves ice in place well past the deadline has a hard time arguing that the condition was unavoidable. On the other side, owners frequently raise the storm in progress defense, arguing that they had no duty to clear while precipitation was still falling. We address that defense with certified weather records, timestamps on photos, and witness accounts of when the snow actually stopped. Our article on the NYC 4-hour snow rule and the storm in progress doctrine covers the timing questions in more depth.

Ice is not limited to sidewalks. Elevated subway stairs, building entry steps, parking lots and private driveways all freeze, and each has its own responsible party.

Proving Negligence in a Queens Premises Case

New York does not hold an owner liable simply because someone fell. To recover, an injured person generally has to establish four things.

1. The defendant owned, occupied, controlled or made special use of the property.
2. A dangerous or defective condition existed.
3. The defendant created the condition, or had actual or constructive notice of it long enough to fix it or warn about it.
4. The condition caused the fall and your injuries.

Notice is usually where the fight happens. Actual notice means the owner knew, for example because a tenant complained about a loose stair tread. Constructive notice means the condition was visible and apparent for long enough that a reasonable owner would have found it. A spill that sat in an aisle for an hour and a recurring roof leak that pools in the same hallway every time it rains are classic examples.

Defendants also raise the trivial defect argument, claiming a crack or height difference was too small to matter. In *Hutchinson v Sheridan Hill House Corp.*, the Court of Appeals rejected any minimum height rule and held that courts must look at the defect’s characteristics and the surrounding circumstances, such as lighting, location and foot traffic.

Owner-Occupied Homes, City Sidewalks and Prior Written Notice

On a commercial block or in front of an apartment building, Section 7-210 of the New York City Administrative Code generally makes the adjoining property owner responsible for keeping the sidewalk reasonably safe, including repairing defective flags and removing snow and ice. On many residential blocks in Queens, though, a different rule applies.

Section 7-210 does not cover one-, two- or three-family homes that are owner occupied, in whole or in part, and used only as residences. In front of those homes, the City of New York generally remains responsible for the sidewalk. That shifts the claim to a government defendant, which brings two extra requirements.

• A notice of claim must be served on the City within 90 days of the fall.
• Prior written notice of the specific defect must usually have been given to the City, with the City failing to repair it within 15 days, under Section 7-201(c)(2) of the Administrative Code.

Prior written notice is often proved through defect maps filed with the City, earlier written complaints, or repair records. In December 2024, the Court of Appeals held in Calabrese v City of Albany that a report submitted through a city’s online complaint system can be a written notice under that city’s law. How that reasoning plays out under New York City’s own rule depends on the facts, so we review 311 complaint histories in every City sidewalk case. For a fuller explanation of claims against the City, see our article on whether you can sue the City for a sidewalk crack.

Filing Deadlines for Queens Fall Claims

Deadlines in premises cases depend on the defendant, and the shortest ones apply to government entities.

• Private owners, businesses and landlords: Under CPLR 214, a personal injury lawsuit must generally be filed within three years.
• The City of New York: A notice of claim within 90 days, and a lawsuit within one year and 90 days under General Municipal Law 50-i. At least 30 days must pass after the notice is served before you sue.
• NYC Transit (subway and bus): Under Public Authorities Law 1212, a notice of claim is required and the lawsuit must be started within one year and 90 days.
• NYCHA developments: Queens has public housing in Astoria, Long Island City, Jamaica and the Rockaways. The Public Housing Law requires a notice of claim and a lawsuit within one year and 90 days.
• The Port Authority (JFK and LaGuardia): A notice of claim at least 60 days before suit, and a lawsuit within one year.

A judge has discretion to allow a late notice of claim in some situations, but asking for that permission is never a substitute for filing on time.

Your Share of Fault and How It Affects Recovery

Insurers often argue that the injured person should have been more careful. New York’s pure comparative fault rule, found in CPLR 1411, does not let that argument wipe out your claim. Your damages are reduced by your percentage of fault, but you can still recover even if you were mostly at fault.

Here is how that works in practice. Suppose you fall on an icy step at a Flushing apartment building where the owner never salted after a storm that ended the night before. If a jury values your damages at $200,000 and finds you 20 percent at fault for wearing smooth-soled shoes, you would recover $160,000.

A related rule, CPLR 1601, limits a defendant whose fault is 50 percent or less to its proportional share of non-economic damages. When a landlord, a managing agent and a snow removal contractor may all share the blame, naming each of them can make a real difference in what you collect.

Injuries and Damages in Queens Slip and Fall Claims

Falls on hard city surfaces produce serious injuries. Among our Queens clients, we regularly see fractured wrists, hips and ankles, knee injuries that require arthroscopic surgery, rotator cuff tears, herniated discs, and concussions. Older adults face added risk, because a hip fracture can mean surgery, a rehabilitation stay and a long loss of independence.

New York law allows recovery for:

• Past and future medical treatment, surgery, therapy and medication
• Lost income, plus reduced earning ability if you cannot return to the same work
• Pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of life
• Household help and other expenses caused by the injury
• A spouse’s claim for loss of services and companionship

We build damages through medical records, treating physician testimony and, where needed, economic and vocational experts. We do not promise a figure at the outset, because a fair value depends on how your recovery unfolds.

Steps We Take to Build Your Queens Case

Evidence in a fall case disappears quickly. Video is overwritten, spills are mopped and broken steps get repaired. When you hire us, we move to preserve the record.

1. Send preservation letters demanding that owners and businesses keep video, incident reports and cleaning logs.
2. Photograph and measure the defect, and when the City may be responsible, search its records for prior written notice and repair history.
3. Identify every possible defendant through deed, lease and management records.
4. Serve any required notice of claim within the governing deadline.
5. Gather your medical records and coordinate with your treating doctors.
6. Present a detailed demand to the insurers, and file suit when a fair offer does not follow.

Our article on how long slip and fall claims take gives a realistic sense of the timeline at each stage.

Litigating in Queens County Supreme Court

Most Queens fall lawsuits are heard in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, Queens County, Civil Term, which sits at 88-11 Sutphin Boulevard in Jamaica and at 25-10 Court Square in Long Island City. Cases with damages up to $50,000 can be brought in the Civil Court of the City of New York instead.

If the City is a defendant, it can first demand a 50-h hearing, a sworn examination about how the accident happened and what injuries you suffered. After the lawsuit is filed, the case moves through a preliminary conference, document discovery, depositions and a defense medical examination. Once discovery is complete, a note of issue places the case on the trial calendar. Many cases resolve in mediation or settlement conferences along the way, and the rest are tried before a Queens jury.

Because Mark Seitelman spent his early career as a law assistant to a Supreme Court Justice, he learned civil procedure from inside the courthouse. That training shapes how we prepare motions and trials.

Representation in the Languages Queens Speaks

Queens families speak a remarkable range of languages at home, and an injured person should be able to explain what happened in the language they think in. Our attorneys and staff speak Spanish, Hindi, Gujarati, Russian, Ukrainian, Albanian, French and Creole. For many families in Corona, Richmond Hill, Rego Park and Jackson Heights, that means working directly with our team rather than through an interpreter.

Why Queens Clients Work With Our Firm

Our team has more than 100 years of combined experience and has served more than 13,000 clients. About 95 percent of our clients come to us by word of mouth, which we view as the most honest measure of how we treat people.

• Mark Seitelman personally reviews every potential case and meets with each new client.
• He holds an AV Preeminent rating of 5.0 out of 5 from Martindale-Hubbell.
• He is a lifetime member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum.
• He has served on the Board of Directors of the New York State Trial Lawyers Association and teaches continuing legal education courses for other trial lawyers.
• We advance case expenses, which are repaid from the recovery, so you do not have to fund your case out of pocket.

Questions About Queens Slip and Fall Claims

I fell on the stairs of an elevated subway station in Queens. Who is responsible?

Subway stations are generally operated by NYC Transit. A notice of claim must be served within 90 days, and the lawsuit must be filed within one year and 90 days.

The sidewalk in front of a two-family house was cracked. Can I sue the homeowner?

Usually not, if the owner lives there and the house is used only as a residence. The claim generally lies against the City, which requires a 90-day notice of claim and proof of prior written notice of the defect.

Does it matter that it was still snowing when I fell?

It can. Owners often argue that there is no duty to clear while a storm is in progress. Weather records showing when the snow stopped are key evidence.

My fall happened at JFK. Is the deadline the same?

No. Claims against the Port Authority require a notice of claim at least 60 days before suit, and the lawsuit must be filed within one year.

How much does it cost to talk with your firm?

Nothing. The consultation is free, and we work on contingency, so there is no legal fee unless we recover money for you.

Getting Help After a Fall in Queens

A Queens fall case can turn on a 90-day notice, a 311 complaint from years earlier, or surveillance video that will be erased next week. The earlier we start, the more of that evidence we can secure. Mark E. Seitelman Law Offices offers free consultations to people hurt in falls throughout Queens, from Astoria to the Rockaways, and we can speak with you in your own language. Reach out to our team to talk through what happened and learn where your claim stands.