Premises Liability Lawyer in New York City

Attorney Michael Gunzburg

Who Needs a Premises Liability Attorney in New York City?

You need a premises liability attorney if you were injured by a dangerous condition on someone else's property and the owner knew or should have known about the hazard but failed to fix it or warn you.
Common scenarios include slipping on freshly mopped floors without warning signs, tripping on cracked sidewalks or unsecured mats, falling down broken stairs without proper railings, getting hurt in elevator or escalator malfunctions, being struck by falling debris or ceiling collapses, slipping on untreated ice and snow, or being injured due to inadequate security. These accidents happen in apartment buildings, stores, restaurants, office buildings, subway stations, parking garages, and on public sidewalks across Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, Staten Island, Williamsburg, Astoria, Long Island City, Park Slope, Harlem, and throughout New York City.
If your injuries required medical treatment, caused you to miss work, or continue to cause pain, you likely have a claim worth pursuing.

What to Expect When You Hire Us

Free Consultation and Case Evaluation

Your case begins with a free, no-obligation consultation where we listen to what happened, review any photos or documents you have, and give you an honest assessment of your claim's strength. We explain your rights under New York premises liability law and answer all your questions in plain language, no legal jargon.

Thorough Investigation

We immediately begin investigating your accident. This includes visiting the accident scene, photographing the dangerous condition (before the property owner fixes it), interviewing witnesses, obtaining incident reports and surveillance video, reviewing property maintenance records, and consulting with safety and engineering experts. We gather the evidence needed to prove the owner's negligence.

Handling All Communication

We deal directly with property owners, their insurance companies, and their lawyers so you don't have to. Insurance adjusters often try to get recorded statements from injury victims early on, hoping to use your words against you later or to pressure you into accepting a lowball settlement. We protect you from these tactics.

Building Your Case

We document all your injuries and losses: medical records and bills, diagnostic test results, doctor's reports and prognosis, wage loss documentation, photos of your injuries, and testimony from medical experts about your need for future treatment. We calculate the full value of your claim, including costs you'll face months or years from now.

Aggressive Negotiation

Armed with compelling evidence, we negotiate aggressively for a settlement that covers all your damages. Property owners and their insurers know Michael Gunzburg, P.C. is always prepared to go to trial, we've done it successfully for 39+ years, so they take our demands seriously.

Trial When Necessary

If the insurance company won't offer fair compensation, we take your case to court. We've obtained multimillion-dollar jury verdicts for our clients, including a $2.3 million verdict for a man injured in a slip and fall at JFK Airport when a cleaner left a wet, soapy floor without warning signs.

Benefits of Hiring Michael Gunzburg, P.C. for Your Premises Liability Case

Maximum Compensation for All Your Damages

We recover compensation for current and future medical expenses, past and future lost wages and reduced earning capacity, pain and suffering, emotional distress, permanent disability or disfigurement, and loss of enjoyment of life. Our thorough approach means we account for every dollar you've lost and will lose because of your injuries. Insurance companies often focus only on your initial medical bills and ignore long-term impacts. We don't.

No Upfront Costs, You Pay Nothing Unless We Win

We work on a contingency fee basis. You don't pay any attorney's fees unless we recover compensation for you. We advance all case expenses, expert fees, court costs, investigation expenses, and only recoup those costs if we win. This means anyone injured by a negligent property owner can afford experienced legal representation, regardless of their financial situation.

39+ Years of Proven Trial Experience

Since 1987, Michael Gunzburg has handled thousands of personal injury cases, obtained numerous multimillion-dollar verdicts and settlements, and argued appeals at the highest levels of New York's courts. Property owners and their insurance companies know we're not afraid to go to trial, which strengthens our negotiating position. When we say we're prepared to let a jury decide, they believe us, because we've done it successfully hundreds of times.

Thorough Investigation to Prove Owner Negligence

Premises liability cases succeed or fail based on the evidence. We act fast to preserve crucial proof before it disappears: photographing the hazard before repairs are made, obtaining surveillance video before it's deleted or recorded over, interviewing witnesses while memories are fresh, securing maintenance logs and incident reports, and hiring engineers to document code violations. Our 39 years of experience means we know exactly what evidence we need and how to get it.

Protection from Insurance Company Tactics

Insurance adjusters have one job: minimize what they pay you. They'll use every trick to devalue your claim, suggesting you're exaggerating your injuries, claiming the hazard was "obvious" and you should have seen it, offering quick, lowball settlements before you know the full extent of your injuries, or arguing you were partly at fault. We've seen it all. We shield you from these tactics, handle all communications, and refuse to let them shortchange you.

Common Questions About Premises Liability Cases in New York City

What should I do immediately after a slip, trip, or fall on someone else's property?

Take photos of the hazardous condition and the surrounding area, get names and phone numbers of any witnesses, report the incident to the property owner, manager, or staff immediately, and seek medical attention even if you feel "okay", some injuries don't show symptoms right away. Then contact Michael Gunzburg, P.C. at 212-725-8500 before speaking with any insurance company. Early documentation is critical. If you don't take photos at the scene, the property owner might fix the problem before we can investigate. If you don't report it right away, they'll claim the accident never happened. If you give a recorded statement to their insurer without a lawyer, they'll use it against you.

How do I prove the property owner is responsible for my accident?

You must show the property owner created the dangerous condition, knew about it but didn't fix it, or should have known about it through reasonable inspections and maintenance. Examples include wet floors from mopping without warning signs, broken stairs or missing handrails that weren't repaired, uneven sidewalks with cracks or height differentials over building code limits, poor lighting that obscured hazards, or malfunctioning elevators with known maintenance issues. We prove liability by obtaining maintenance records showing they knew about problems, reviewing prior complaints or incident reports, consulting engineering experts to identify code violations, analyzing how long the hazard existed, and demonstrating they had reasonable time to discover and fix it. In the $2.3 million JFK Airport case we won, a maintenance worker created a wet, soapy condition with his cleaning machine and failed to post caution signs, proving both that the owner created the hazard and failed to warn about it.

What types of premises liability cases does Michael Gunzburg, P.C. handle?

We handle slip and fall accidents on wet, mopped, or icy floors; trip and fall accidents on broken sidewalks, stairs, or unsecured mats; elevator accidents including sudden drops, door malfunctions, and mechanical failures; escalator accidents with loose steps or faulty emergency brakes; staircase accidents with broken steps, missing railings, or poor lighting; inadequate security leading to assault or robbery; ceiling and structural collapses from poor maintenance; falling debris from construction sites or building facades; snow and ice accidents on untreated walkways; inadequate lighting causing falls; and toxic exposures in poorly ventilated areas. Whether your accident happened in a residential apartment building, commercial office, retail store, restaurant, subway station, parking garage, or on a public sidewalk anywhere in the five boroughs, we can evaluate your claim.

Can I still recover compensation if I was partly at fault for my accident?

Yes, you can still recover compensation even if you share some fault. New York follows pure comparative negligence, which means your compensation is reduced by your percentage of fault but you're not barred from recovery. For example, if a jury finds you 20% responsible because you were looking at your phone when you tripped, and your total damages are $100,000, you'd recover $80,000. Property owners and their insurers often try to shift blame to injury victims, claiming the hazard was "open and obvious" or you weren't watching where you were going. We push back hard against these unfair arguments. Just because you could have been more careful doesn't mean the property owner gets to ignore dangerous conditions on their property.

How long do I have to file a premises liability lawsuit in New York?

You have three years from the date of your accident to file a lawsuit against most private property owners. However, if you're suing New York City, the MTA, NYCHA, or another government entity, you must file a Notice of Claim within 90 days of the accident and file your lawsuit within one year and 90 days. Missing these deadlines usually destroys your case, which is why you should contact a premises liability attorney immediately after any serious property accident. Evidence also disappears quickly, surveillance video gets deleted, hazards get repaired, and witnesses forget details, so the sooner you call us, the stronger your case will be.

What compensation can I recover in a premises liability case?

You can recover all medical expenses including emergency room visits, surgeries, hospital stays, physical therapy, medications, and future medical treatment; lost wages from time you missed work recovering; loss of earning capacity if your injuries prevent you from returning to your previous job; pain and suffering for physical discomfort and limitations; emotional distress including anxiety, depression, and trauma from the accident; permanent disability or disfigurement; and loss of enjoyment of life for activities you can no longer do. The amount you can recover depends on the severity of your injuries, how the accident impacts your daily life and work, the strength of evidence proving the property owner's negligence, and your attorney's skill in documenting and presenting your damages. We've recovered millions for our clients, including multimillion-dollar settlements and jury verdicts.

Do I need a lawyer for a premises liability case or can I handle it myself?

You should hire an experienced premises liability attorney because insurance companies have entire legal teams working to minimize what they pay you, and they know injured people without lawyers usually accept less. Studies show injury victims with attorneys recover 2.4 to 3.5 times more compensation than those who handle claims alone. Premises liability cases are complex. You need to prove the owner knew or should have known about the hazard, gather evidence before it disappears, navigate New York's comparative negligence rules, deal with insurance adjuster tactics, accurately calculate future damages like ongoing medical care, and negotiate effectively or take the case to trial. At Michael Gunzburg, P.C., you pay nothing unless we win, so there's no financial risk to having experienced legal representation fighting for you.

What if the property owner claims they didn't know about the dangerous condition?

Property owners don't need actual knowledge of a hazard to be liable, they can also be held responsible for "constructive notice," meaning they should have known about the condition through reasonable inspections and maintenance. We prove constructive notice by showing how long the hazard existed (witnesses saw it for days or weeks), photos showing the hazard was obvious and visible, maintenance logs showing they rarely inspected the area, or expert testimony about industry standards for property inspections. In slip and fall cases, if the hazard existed long enough that a reasonable inspection would have discovered it, the owner is liable even if they claim ignorance. Property owners can't simply ignore their duty to keep premises safe and then hide behind "we didn't know."

Areas We Serve

Michael Gunzburg, P.C. represents premises liability clients throughout New York City and surrounding areas, including all five boroughs: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island. We've successfully handled property accident cases for clients in neighborhoods including the Financial District, SoHo, Chelsea, Midtown, the Upper West Side, the Upper East Side, Harlem, Williamsburg, Park Slope, DUMBO, Long Island City, Astoria, Flushing, Jackson Heights, Fordham, Riverdale, and many others throughout the metropolitan area.

No matter where your accident occurred in New York City, whether in a residential building, commercial property, retail store, subway station, or on a public sidewalk, we have the local knowledge and experience to handle your case effectively.

Schedule Your Free Premises Liability Consultation in New York City

If you or a loved one was injured on someone else's property due to a dangerous condition, don't wait. Evidence disappears, surveillance video gets deleted, and New York's strict deadlines can bar your claim if you miss them. Contact Michael Gunzburg, P.C. today for a free, no-obligation consultation with an experienced premises liability attorney.

We'll review what happened, explain your rights, and answer all your questions. You don't pay any attorney's fees unless we recover compensation for you. While you focus on your recovery, we'll fight to hold the negligent property owner accountable and secure the maximum compensation you deserve for your medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other damages.

Call 212-725-8500 now or contact us online. Your consultation is free. Your recovery is our priority.

Other Personal Injury Services We Offer

• Car Accidents
• Truck Accidents
• Pedestrian Accidents
• Construction Accidents
• Medical Malpractice
• Wrongful Deaths