Brooklyn Slip & Fall Lawyer – Holding Property Owners Accountable in Kings County
If you slipped, tripped, or fell on someone else’s property in Brooklyn and were hurt, you deserve to know your rights. Brooklyn’s property owners – from brownstone landlords in Park Slope to commercial landlords on Atlantic Avenue – have a legal obligation to maintain their premises in a reasonably safe condition. When they fail, and people get hurt, they are accountable.
Jason Linden at Linden Law fights for Brooklyn slip and fall victims throughout Kings County. Call (212) 804-8440 for a free consultation. No fee unless we win.
Brooklyn Premises Hazards: The Reality on the Ground
Aging building stock creates more hazards. Brooklyn has a significant stock of older residential and commercial buildings – brownstones, pre-war apartment buildings, and converted industrial spaces – many of which were built before modern safety standards. Uneven flooring, worn staircase treads, inadequate lighting in stairwells, and deteriorating common areas are all more common in older buildings. The age of a building is not a legal excuse for failing to maintain it safely.
Brownstone stoops and entrances. The iconic Brooklyn brownstone is a beautiful piece of urban architecture – and a source of genuine hazard when the front stoop is cracked, when the steps are uneven, or when the entrance landing is slippery in wet weather. Property owners are responsible for maintaining their stoops in a safe condition and for addressing ice and snow accumulation after a storm.
Commercial strip hazards. Atlantic Avenue, Court Street, Flatbush Avenue, and the shopping corridors of Bay Ridge, Williamsburg, and Fulton Street all present typical commercial premises hazards: wet floors from foot traffic in rainy weather, trip hazards at store thresholds, and inadequate lighting in parking areas.
Supermarkets and grocery stores. Brooklyn has an enormous number of supermarkets and corner stores with wet produce areas, leaking coolers, and high-traffic floor areas that need frequent maintenance. Spills left unaddressed, floors mopped without adequate signage, and worn non-slip matting are all frequent causes of injury in grocery settings.
Seasonal ice and snow in residential neighborhoods. Under New York City law, property owners must remove snow and ice from sidewalks abutting their property within specific timeframes after a storm. When property owners – whether in residential brownstone neighborhoods or commercial districts – fail to clear their sidewalks and someone falls, they are liable for the resulting injuries.
Establishing Notice: The Key to Your Case
To succeed in a Brooklyn premises liability case, you must show that the property owner or manager knew or should have known about the hazardous condition and failed to fix it or warn about it in a reasonable time. We build this proof through:
- Surveillance footage – many Brooklyn commercial properties and residential buildings have cameras. We move immediately to preserve this footage before it is overwritten (often within 30 days)
- Prior incident reports – if others have fallen in the same spot, those records can establish that the owner was on notice
- Maintenance logs – showing when the area was last inspected or cleaned
- Witness statements – neighbors, employees, and other patrons who saw the condition
- Physical evidence – photographs of the hazard taken at the scene
Where Brooklyn Slip & Fall Cases Are Filed
Brooklyn premises liability cases are filed in the New York Supreme Court, Kings County at 360 Adams Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201 or in Kings County Civil Court for smaller claims. Jason Linden is familiar with the courts and judges in Kings County and tailors litigation strategy to local practice.
How We Serve Brooklyn Clients
Our Manhattan office at 250 West 57th St., Suite 432 is accessible from Brooklyn via the 2, 3, 4, 5, A, C, R, and N subway lines. We also offer phone and video consultations, and we come to you when your injuries prevent travel. We serve all Brooklyn neighborhoods, from DUMBO and Cobble Hill to Flatbush, Brownsville, and Canarsie.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do I have to file a slip and fall claim in Brooklyn?
For claims against private property owners, the statute of limitations is three years from the date of your accident. If your fall occurred on property owned or maintained by a government entity – the City of New York, NYCHA, the MTA – a Notice of Claim must be filed within 90 days. Missing the 90-day deadline bars your claim against the government permanently.
What if I fell on an icy Brooklyn sidewalk?
In New York City, property owners are required to clear snow and ice from the sidewalks abutting their property within four hours of the end of a snowstorm (except overnight accumulation, which must be cleared by 11 a.m.). If you fell on an icy or snow-covered sidewalk and the abutting property owner failed to clear it in time, the owner may be liable. We investigate the timing of the storm and the clearance timeline as part of every icy sidewalk case.
What if the building was a brownstone with an old, cracked stoop?
Yes, you can have a claim. The age of the building or the stoop is not a defense to failing to maintain it safely. A landlord or property owner who knows or should know that their stoop is cracked, uneven, or slippery is obligated to repair it or warn about it. We document the condition thoroughly and pursue the property owner’s insurance.
Can I sue my landlord if I fell in my own building?
In many cases, yes. If you fell in a common area of your building – the lobby, a stairwell, the basement laundry room, or the building’s sidewalk – your landlord may be liable. Landlords have a non-delegable duty to maintain common areas in a safe condition. Even if you are a tenant, you have rights as a premises liability victim.
What if the store says it didn’t know about the spill?
“We didn’t know” is a defense we confront directly with evidence. Stores have a duty to conduct regular inspections of their floors. If a hazardous condition existed for long enough that a reasonable inspection would have revealed it, the store is legally responsible regardless of whether any particular employee saw it. We use inspection logs, employee schedules, and surveillance footage to establish how long the hazard existed.
No Fee Unless We Win
Linden Law handles all Brooklyn slip and fall cases on a contingency fee basis. You pay nothing to retain us and nothing during the case. We collect a fee only when we win.
Call (212) 804-8440 or contact us online for your free consultation.
Linden Law LLC | 250 West 57th St., Suite 432, New York, NY 10017