Winter in New York can be as unforgiving as it is beautiful. While snow-covered sidewalks, icy stairways, and frozen parking lots are part of everyday life from late fall through early spring, these conditions are also responsible for scores of slip and fall accidents each year. As a property owner, you should know that if you don’t manage snow and ice properly, they can turn into serious legal and financial risks.
Whether you are a homeowner, landlord, or business owner, understanding snow and ice liability in New York is critical. After all, a single fall on an icy surface can result in severe injuries, substantial medical bills, and protracted legal battles. This guide walks you through winter property hazards, premises liability laws, and what property owners and injured individuals should know about slip and fall claims.
Why Are Winter Property Hazards Dangerous?
Winter hazards tend to differ from other property risks because they develop quickly. For example, a sidewalk that looks safe in daylight may become dangerously slippery after sunset. Besides, black ice, refreezing ice, and compacted snow can also create conditions with the potential for accidents fairly quickly.
A slip and fall accident on ice can result in serious injuries like fractures, head trauma, spinal injuries, shoulder injuries, knee injuries, and soft tissue damage. When an older adult is the victim, even a minor fall can be life-altering.
How New York Snow and Ice Liability Works
If you’re wondering why someone who slipped on your sidewalk is suing you, you need to understand the basics of New York premises liability law. For starters, it requires that all property owners maintain a duty of care. This means you have to take reasonable measures to ensure your property isn’t hazardous to people who’re there legally, which could be tenants, customers, a mail carrier, or just a pedestrian walking past your building.
Keep in mind that not everyone who slips and falls on your property is entitled to a guaranteed payout. To file a successful claim, an injured party needs to prove three points. These include:
- The property was in a dangerous condition.
- You either created the condition or knew about it and did not take remedial measures.
- You had constructive notice.
The Concept of Constructive Notice
Many slip and fall cases are won or lost based on this concept. Constructive notice means that a dangerous condition existed for a long enough period that a reasonable property owner would have discovered and fixed it through routine inspections. Even if you claim you were unaware of the ice, liability might still apply if the condition was visible and persistent.
Consider these examples. If an ice patch formed ten minutes before someone fell at 3:00 AM, it is likely you didn’t have constructive notice. However, if that same ice patch had been there for two days following a melt-freeze cycle, a court will likely say you should have known about it and taken remedial measures.
What About Contributory Negligence
New York follows the contributory negligence doctrine. As a result, if a pedestrian is walking while staring at their phone, ignores cones, or wears smooth-soled dress shoes during a blizzard, a jury might find them partially at fault for their own injuries. In this case, the percentage of fault would have a bearing on the compensation amount.
The Storm in Progress Doctrine
The Storm in Progress doctrine that New York follows recognizes that you can’t fight Mother Nature while she’s actively swinging. What this also means is that a property owner’s duty to clear snow and ice does not begin until a reasonable amount of time after the storm ends. So, if someone slips on your walkway during active blizzard conditions, this doctrine might come to your rescue.
The Effect of NYC Administrative Code § 7-210
Historically, the city was responsible for many sidewalk accidents, but that changed with the introduction of NYC Administrative Code § 7-210. This law shifted the liability for sidewalk injuries from the city almost entirely onto adjacent property owners.
Now, according to NYC sidewalk rules, if you own a commercial property or a residential property with more than three units, you are legally responsible for maintaining the sidewalk abutting your property in a reasonably safe condition. This specifically includes removing snow, ice, and dirt. In addition, you might also be subject to fines from the NYC Department of Sanitation (DSNY).
NYC Snow Removal Timeline
DSNY doesn’t deal in vague terms like reasonable time. Instead, it follows a very specific timeline, and your window to clean sidewalks depends on when the snow stops falling.
- Snow stops between 7:00 AM and 4:59 PM: You get four hours to clear the snow.
- Snow stops between 5:00 PM and 8:59 PM: You must clear it within 14 hours.
- Snow stops between 9:00 PM and 6:59 AM: You have until 11:00 AM the next day.
If you fail to meet these timelines, you might end up paying significant NYC sidewalk snow removal fines, and they escalate with repeat offenses. More importantly, missing these deadlines is excellent evidence for a plaintiff’s lawyer trying to prove negligence in a lawsuit.
Who Is Liable for Slip and Fall on Ice in New York?
The answer to this question depends on where the accident occurred and who controlled the property.
- Homeowners. Homeowners may be liable if they fail to clear snow or ice from walkways, driveways, or stairs used by guests or delivery workers. Homeowner liability for icy driveways in New York is a common issue, especially when ice forms repeatedly due to poor drainage.
- Landlords. Landlords have a legal duty to maintain common areas such as hallways, entrances, stairwells, and sidewalks. Landlord liability for snow and ice in New York can enter the picture if a tenant or visitor suffers an injury.
- Commercial property owners. It is upon businesses to maintain safe conditions for customers and employees, and commercial property liability typically involves parking lots, ramps, and entryways.
Landlord vs. Tenant Responsibility for Snow Removal
A common source of confusion and litigation is the tug-of-war over the landlord vs. tenant responsibility for snow removal in NY. While you can clearly state that the tenant of your single-family rental is fully responsible for shoveling the driveway in a lease agreement, the law will still hold you responsible for keeping the premises safe.
Irrespective of what your lease agreement says, if your tenant fails to shovel and a mail carrier breaks their leg, the carrier will likely sue you, the owner. Sure, you might file a breach of contract claim against your tenant later, but that won’t stop the initial personal injury claim against you.
When it comes to commercial properties or multi-unit residential buildings, remember that it is almost always the landlord’s non-delegable duty to keep common areas, sidewalks, and parking lots safe.
Hazards Beyond Fresh Snow
Most property owners are diligent about the initial snowfall, and they get out there with the shovel once the flakes stop. However, the most dangerous winter hazards often appear 24 to 48 hours later.
The Melt-Freeze Cycle and Refrozen Meltwater
The sun comes out during the day, melting the snow piled on the edges of your walkway or on your roof, and this water trickles across the pavement. When the sun sets and temperatures plummet below freezing, that water turns into a sleek, often invisible sheet of ice. This is perhaps the leading cause of severe falls during the winter.
It is common for New York snow and ice liability lawsuits to frequently focus on refrozen meltwater. This is when plaintiffs typically argue that the owner should have anticipated the cycle and applied salt or sand preemptively.
Hidden Black Ice
Unlike what the name implies, black ice is transparent and allows the color of the asphalt or concrete beneath to show through, making it notoriously difficult for pedestrians to see. Is a property owner liable for black ice in New York? Absolutely, especially if it formed due to a known issue like poor drainage or the melt-freeze cycle.
Defective Gutters and Structural Issues
There are instances when the hazard isn’t the weather, but the building. For instance, defective gutters that cause ice patches can be a massive liability. If a clogged gutter overflows, sends water down a leader pipe, and discharges it directly onto a walkway where it freezes, according to snow and ice liability laws in New York, you have essentially created a trap.
Icy Curb Cuts and Pedestrian Ramps
The graded down area where the sidewalk meets the street (the curb cut) is a known trouble spot. Plows routinely push street snow onto it, and it is also subject to snow shoveled from sidewalks. Then, it becomes an intersection of slush that freezes hard. While municipal plowing operations complicate liability here, property owners are generally responsible for ensuring the curb cut leading to their sidewalk is safe.
What to Do After a Winter Slip and Fall Accident
Can you sue for slipping on ice in New York? The short answer is yes, but it is crucial that you follow a few simple steps early on.
- Seek medical attention as quickly as possible.
- Report the incident to the property owner or manager.
- Take photos of the icy condition, the surrounding area, and your injury.
- Collect eyewitness information.
- Don’t give recorded statements without getting legal advice.
Why Are Snow and Ice Claims Complicated?
Snow and ice cases are rarely straightforward, and insurance companies use different arguments to minimize their liability. For instance, they can use the visibility factor to argue that if the plaintiff couldn’t see the ice to avoid it, then the property owner couldn’t have been expected to see it to clear it. Other common defenses include:
- A storm was in progress.
- The hazard was open and obvious.
- The property owner acted reasonably.
- The injured person was partially at fault.
Another important problem is that of disappearing evidence. This is because when it comes to snow and ice, the evidence literally melts away.
Conclusion
Now that you know where the legal responsibility for icy walkways in New York rests, make sure you keep those around your business or residential building safe. As long as you take the right measures to minimize your risk, there is a possibility that you may escape liability. On the other hand, if you have suffered injury in a slip and fall accident on ice, know that you might be able to seek compensation for your damages.
In both scenarios, discussing the specifics of your case with a New York snow and ice liability attorney is the best way forward.