$500,000 Icy Sidewalk Fall Settlement in Manhattan

Park Avenue in Manhattan, walking northbound on the west side of the street. Ice on the sidewalk — not cleared, not salted, not sanded. Our client's foot hit the ice and they fell. A stretch of one of Manhattan's premier avenues where the adjacent property owner left ice on the sidewalk and a pedestrian paid the price.

Slip and Fall on Icy Sidewalk on Park Avenue in Manhattan

Our client was walking north on the west side of Park Avenue in Manhattan when they stepped on a patch of ice that had accumulated on the sidewalk. The ice had not been cleared, salted, or treated by the adjacent property owner — leaving a slippery surface directly in the path of pedestrians on one of Manhattan's most heavily trafficked sidewalks. Our client's foot lost traction on the ice and they fell, striking the ground with the sudden force that ice-related falls produce.

Falls on icy sidewalks generate injuries with a distinctive severity profile. The slip happens instantly — the foot slides forward or sideways, the body's center of gravity shifts past the point of recovery, and the person falls backward or to the side. The impact with the hard sidewalk surface beneath the ice produces fractures, joint injuries, and soft tissue damage. There is no opportunity to control the landing or break the fall because the same ice that caused the slip prevents any traction for recovery. Our client's injuries required medical evaluation and an extended course of treatment.

Property Owner's Duty to Clear Ice From Sidewalks

New York City law requires property owners to clear snow and ice from the sidewalk adjacent to their building within a reasonable time after the precipitation ends. Along Park Avenue — a major commercial and residential corridor — the expectation for timely snow and ice removal is particularly high given the volume of pedestrian traffic. The ice that caused our client's fall had been present long enough for the property owner to clear or treat it through reasonable maintenance. The failure to do so created a slip hazard for every northbound pedestrian on the west side of the avenue.

Our attorneys investigated the weather conditions, the timing of the ice formation relative to the fall, and the property owner's snow and ice removal practices. The evidence established that the property owner had sufficient time to address the icy condition and failed to do so — a breach of the property owner's duty that directly caused our client's fall and the injuries that followed.

"Ice on Park Avenue. The west side of the street, not cleared, not treated. Our client was walking north and hit the ice — went straight down. Property owners in Manhattan are required to clear ice from the sidewalk. Park Avenue gets thousands of pedestrians every day. Leaving ice on the sidewalk along that stretch isn't just negligent — it's an invitation for someone to get hurt. Our client accepted that invitation involuntarily and paid for it with injuries that required extensive treatment." — Jason Krakower, Attorney

$500,000 Settlement for a Manhattan Icy Sidewalk Fall

This $500,000 settlement covers medical treatment, rehabilitation, lost wages, and the lasting physical limitations our client now manages from the ice-related fall. It holds the property owner accountable for failing to clear ice from the sidewalk along Park Avenue — one of Manhattan's busiest pedestrian corridors.

If you slipped on ice or snow on a Manhattan sidewalk, our premises liability attorneys have experience with icy sidewalk claims and are ready to review your case.