Anyone who has ever lived in or visited the City of New York has unfortunately seen and experienced the conditions of some of its streets. While attempting to cross the street you may experience, depressions, potholes, raised areas, and metal plates to name just a few of the potential hazards. Sadly, many of these conditions are present in the crosswalk areas that you have been directed to use.
Crossing a street in New York City can often be a dangerous and hazardous activity. The danger is sharply and dramatically increased when crossing a busy intersection with cars turning and so many other people also crossing that it becomes almost impossible to observe and scan the walking surface in front of you-you may thus encounter an obstacle and unsafe area without ever being aware of it.
As a result of these ever-present hazards being a pedestrian can be dangerous to your health. These hazards are located in the streets that millions of residents and visitors must use on a daily basis so that pedestrians unfortunately may experience slips, trips and falls, Fortunately, not every slip, trip or fall results in a serious injury.
To understand why slips, trips and falls are so dangerous you must think of the numbers. If one thousand (1000) people walk by a pothole or raised area in a crosswalk assume that only ten (10) of them will slip, trip or fall. Assume then that of those that fall only one (1) will be seriously injured. If you or a loved one has been injured as a result of a hazardous condition in the street and are reading this article then you should be aware of the following information.
When a street has been dug up and created a pothole, a depression, or a raised or slippery area (i.e., metal plates) then you should know that in order to bring a lawsuit to obtain compensation for your injuries you, and your attorney, need to know who to sue: To find out who created this dangerous condition you need to look at the “markers” on the street.
The markers represent the various entities that may have dug up the street, such as Con Edison, a phone company, the City of New York Dept of Water or one of many other entities.
You should take photos as soon as possible after the fall-both close ups, and with perspective, so that we can clearly see where the location of the incident is, and also, what was wrong with the surface that caused you to be injured.
When utility companies mark a location, they use colored flags and/or paint to identify the type of underground service:
Red – Electric power lines, cables, conduit and lighting cables
Yellow – Gas, oil, steam, petroleum or gaseous materials
Orange – Communication, alarm or signal lines, cables or conduit
Blue – Potable water
Purple – Reclaimed water, irrigation and slurry lines
Green – Sewers and drain lines
Pink – Temporary survey markings
White – Proposed excavating
New York City also requires that “round badges” be imbedded in the roadway in 34 RCNY Section 2-11 (Street openings and excavations)
“(14) Color Coding. (iii) Upon completion of the restoration, the permittee shall install colored markers…”
(A) Verizon-Cherry red marker
(B) Empire City Subway-Chrome yellow marker
(C) Consolidated Edison Co.-Light blue marker
(D) Keyspan-White marker
(E) Plumbers (water or sewer)-Green marker
(F) Signals and Street Lights-Orange marker
(G) Long Island Power Authority-Yellow marker
(H) Metropolitan Transit Authority-Purple marker
(I) Buckeye Pipe Line-Chrome yellow marker
(J) Fire Department-Purple marker
(K) Cable T.V.-Regal blue marker
If you need to sue a City or State agency that was negligent in the causing the dangerous condition then you must be aware that they have very strict time limits to file what is called a Notice of Claim. If this Notice of Claim is not filed within the period of time set by statute you may lose your right to sue for your damages. Sometimes a Notice of Claim must be filed within just ninety (90) days of an accident.
As you can see from the above if you or a loved one was injured in the City of New York and caused to slip, trip or fall due to a dangerous condition in the street then knowing who to sue may be complicated and also time sensitive. It is therefore important to contact experienced attorneys to investigate and start a lawsuit on your behalf.
Call Jaroslawicz & Jaros at 212 227 2780, 1 800 269 2780 or submit an online questionnaire. The initial consultation is always free of charge, and if we agree to accept your case, we will work on a contingency fee basis, which means we get paid only if there is a monetary recovery.
You can also call and speak to partner Abraham Jaros
Cell 917-842-9544 or email him at ajaros@lawjaros.com.
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