After a Fall or Accident · New York
The first 72 hours after a fall or accident.
What to do this week, before you talk to any insurer.
Evidence disappears fast: a broken step gets fixed, a spill gets mopped, cameras record over, witnesses scatter. None of this requires a lawyer yet. All of it makes the case you may bring later stronger.
The First 72 Hours
What you do this week can decide the case.
Work through them in order. Each one is small; together they are the difference between a claim that settles and one that dies for lack of proof.
Photograph everything.
The spot where you fell or were hurt, close up and from across the street, your injuries, and anything that failed: the raised sidewalk flag, the broken step, the ladder, the vehicle. Conditions get repaired within days, and your photos are often the only proof of what it looked like.
Get names and numbers.
Anyone who saw you fall or helped you up, the store manager, the super, coworkers, the foreman. People move and forget; a name and a cell number collected today is worth more than a subpoena served a year from now.
Tell the doctor exactly how it happened.
The first medical record gets quoted for the life of the case. Say where you were, what made you fall or what hit you, and every part of your body that hurts, even the parts that seem minor today.
Sign nothing. Record nothing.
No release, no medical authorization, no recorded statement to any insurance company before a lawyer reads it. Early paperwork is designed to close claims cheaply, not to help you.
Keep the paper and the objects.
The shoes you wore, the incident report, receipts, texts with the landlord or the foreman, and any clothing that tore. Put them in a bag and do not wash, repair or throw them out.
Reviewed by Daniel Hochman, Esq. · Last updated October 19, 2026
If you tripped or slipped: the fall checklist.
Fall cases turn on what made you fall and how long it had been there. These steps answer both questions while the answers still exist.
- Measure the defect. Put a ruler, a tape measure or a coin next to the raised edge, hole or broken step and photograph it straight on and from the side. Owners often argue a defect was too small to matter; a measured photo is the best answer.
- Show where it is. Take wide shots that include the building number, a store sign or a street corner, and drop a pin on your phone's map. "Somewhere on Flatbush Avenue" is not enough to name the right owner.
- Show how long it was there. Dirt and weeds in a crack, worn or rounded edges, old patch jobs and rust are all signs a defect is old. Photograph them up close.
- Note the conditions. Time of day, lighting, rain, snow or ice, and anything that blocked your view, like a parked truck or a crowd. Write it down the same day.
- Find the cameras. Look for cameras on the store, the building and the street. Video is often recorded over within days, so tell us about it early; a lawyer's preservation letter is how it gets saved.
- Keep your shoes. The other side will ask what you were wearing. Keep them as they were.
- Stay off social media about it. Photos of you at a party next week, or a post saying you are fine, get printed and shown to a jury.
For who is responsible for a broken sidewalk, the owner or the City, and how the trivial defect and ice rules work, read our New York slip, trip and fall guide.
If a car, bus or bike hit you.
- Get the plate and the insurance card. Photograph the plate, the driver's license and insurance card, and the damage to the car or bike. For a bus, note the route, the bus number on the front or side and the time.
- Make a police report. Ask for the report number at the scene, or go to the precinct the same day. A hit and run claim usually depends on it.
- File for no-fault within 30 days. If a car or bus was involved, its no-fault insurance usually pays your medical bills and part of your lost wages whatever caused the crash, but only if the application arrives within 30 days.
- Keep the bike and your gear. An e-bike, scooter or helmet shows the force of the impact. Do not repair or sell it.
- Save the app record. If you were delivering, screenshot the order and the route at the time of the crash, and your recent payouts.
For riders, see our e-bike and delivery rider guide; for drivers, passengers and pedestrians, car accidents; for buses and subways, transit accidents.
Who to tell, and when.
Report a fall in a store, restaurant or building the same day and ask for a copy of the incident report. Tell your landlord in writing if you fell in your own building. A fall on a City sidewalk or street, in a NYCHA building, in a subway station or on other public property is different: a formal notice of claim must be served within 90 days. That is a legal paper with required contents, and it is usually prepared by a lawyer. A phone call to 311 is not a notice of claim.
The clocks that start on day one.
GEN. MUN. LAW § 50-e · CPLR 214
New York's personal injury deadlines are not all three years. A claim against New York City, NYCHA, the MTA or most public entities requires a notice of claim within 90 days, and the suit must follow within one year and 90 days. A claim against a private owner, landlord or business must be filed within three years. A no-fault insurance application after a car crash is due in 30 days. Most employment discrimination charges with the EEOC must be filed within 300 days. If any of these might apply, do not wait for a callback: call.
When you are ready to talk.
The free case review takes ten minutes. We assess the claim, the deadlines and where the case belongs: slips, trips and falls, construction accidents, car and truck crashes, subway and bus, delivery riders, wrongful death. Injury cases are handled on contingency under a written retainer, which sets out the fee terms before work begins.
Questions people ask us.
Should I report the fall to the store, landlord or building?
Yes, the same day if you can. Ask for an incident report and a copy of it, and write down the name of the person you spoke to. Describe what made you fall in a sentence. Do not guess about your injuries or say you are fine; you may not know yet.
Can I go back later and take the photos?
Go back as soon as you safely can, and bring someone if you are hurt. Owners often repair a defect quickly after a fall, and a repair made later is not a confession in court, so photos of the defect as it was are worth far more than anything you can show afterward.
Should I talk to the owner's insurance company?
Give them your name and contact details if they call, and nothing more until a lawyer has looked at the case. Do not give a recorded statement, sign a medical authorization or accept a quick payment. Those papers are written to close the claim, not to pay it fairly.
Do I need a lawyer in the first 72 hours?
Not for the steps on this page; you can do all of them yourself. Call within days if the fall happened on City, NYCHA or MTA property, if you broke a bone or need surgery, or if a store or building has video. Those are the cases where waiting costs the most.
