Tripped on a Broken or Uneven Sidewalk: Who Pays?
It depends on your state and city. A public sidewalk may be the responsibility of the city, of the owner of the property next to it, or of both, and some states make local governments immune from sidewalk-defect claims altogether. Where a city can be liable, it usually must have known (or should have known) about the defect, and you often must give written notice within a short deadline, sometimes 30 to 90 days, and damages may be capped. The examples below are labelled by state; see your state's sidewalk fall page and the notice-of-claim deadlines by state table.
What the law says
- Example (New York City): according to NYC DOT, property owners are responsible for installing, repairing and maintaining the sidewalks next to their property (NYC Administrative Code § 19-152), and under Administrative Code § 7-210 owners are potentially liable for personal injuries caused by their failure to maintain the sidewalk. After a Notice of Sidewalk Violation, an owner has 75 days to make the repair, or NYC DOT may have a contractor do the work and bill the owner. NYC Admin. Code §§ 7-210, 19-152 (as described by NYC DOT)
- Example (New Jersey): under the state's model jury charge, a residential owner next to a public sidewalk is not responsible for defects caused by the elements or ordinary wear and tear, unless the owner negligently built or repaired it or created the hazard. A commercial property owner (including the owner of a vacant commercial lot) must use reasonable care to keep the abutting sidewalk in reasonably good condition. N.J. Model Civil Jury Charge 5.20B; N.J.S.A. 59:4-2, 59:4-3
- Example (California): the official jury instructions' authorities state the general rule that, absent a statute, an owner next to a public sidewalk has no duty to maintain it, but an owner who altered part of the sidewalk for the sole benefit of the property must use reasonable care in creating and maintaining that part. A public entity that owns or controls the sidewalk can be liable for a dangerous condition if its employee created it or it had actual or constructive notice long enough to have protected against it. CACI Nos. 1007, 1008, 1100, 1103 (2026 ed.)
- Example (Pennsylvania): a local agency can be liable for a dangerous condition of a sidewalk within the right-of-way of a street it owns, only if the condition created a reasonably foreseeable risk of that kind of injury and the agency had actual notice, or could reasonably be charged with notice, in time to take protective measures. Where the agency's liability rests on its power to require abutting owners to repair sidewalks, the agency is only secondarily liable and those owners are primarily liable. 42 Pa.C.S. § 8542(a), (b)(3), (b)(7)
- Example (Illinois): a city, county or other local public entity must use ordinary care to keep its property reasonably safe, and is liable for an unsafe condition only if it had actual or constructive notice in time to fix it or guard against it. It does not have constructive notice if a reasonably adequate inspection system would not have found the condition, or if it ran such a system with due care and did not find it. 745 ILCS 10/3-102
- Example (South Dakota): a property owner who fails to keep the sidewalk next to the property in repair creates or maintains a public nuisance and is liable to the city for any damage or injury caused by that neglect. Any claim against the city itself requires written notice within 180 days. SDCL 9-46-2, 9-46-4, 3-21-2
- Example (Delaware): under the County and Municipal Tort Claims Act, counties, cities and other local governmental entities are immune from damage claims for any defect, lack of repair or insufficient railing in a highway, sidewalk, parking area, bridge and similar public ways. 10 Del. C. §§ 4011(b)(6), 4012
- Example (Maine): under the Maine Tort Claims Act, a government entity is not liable for any defect, lack of repair or lack of sufficient railing in a highway, town way, sidewalk, parking area, causeway or bridge, though it can be liable for its negligence during construction, street cleaning or repair operations on those ways. 14 M.R.S. §8104-A(4)
- Example (Massachusetts): a person hurt by a defect or lack of repair on a public way may recover from the county, city, town or person obliged to repair it if the defect could have been prevented or fixed with reasonable care and there was reasonable notice. Recovery from a county, city or town is limited to one-fifth of one percent of its last state valuation and no more than $5,000; written notice must be given within 30 days, and suit may be filed within 3 years if the claim is not paid. G.L. c. 84, §§15, 18
- Example (Connecticut): a person injured by a defective road or bridge may recover from the party bound to keep it in repair (for local roads, the town or city). Written notice describing the injury, its cause, and the time and place must be given to a selectman or the town, city or borough clerk within 90 days, and suit must be brought within two years. Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 13a-149, 52-557n(a)(1), 7-163a
- Example (Kentucky): before a city can be sued for an injury caused by a defect in a bridge, street, sidewalk, alley or other public way, the injured person must give written notice to the mayor, city clerk or clerk of the board of aldermen within 90 days, stating the time and place of the injury, its character and circumstances, and that the person will claim damages from the city. KRS 411.110
- Example (Alabama): a city or town can be liable for a defect in a street, alley or public way only if the defect was called to the council's attention, or existed so long that the council is presumed to have known of it, and was not fixed. Another responsible party generally must be joined as a defendant, the city pays only what cannot be collected from them, and recovery against a city is capped at $100,000 per injured person and $300,000 per occurrence. Ala. Code §§ 11-47-190, 11-47-191
FAQ
Who is responsible for a broken public sidewalk: the city or the property owner?
It depends on state and local law. In New York City, NYC DOT says property owners must repair the sidewalk next to their property and are potentially liable for injuries. In New Jersey, a commercial owner must keep the abutting sidewalk in reasonably good condition, but a residential owner generally is not responsible for wear and tear. In California, the general rule is that an abutting owner has no duty to maintain the public sidewalk unless the owner altered it for the property's own benefit. See your state's sidewalk fall page.
Do I have to notify the city before I can sue?
Usually yes, and the deadlines can be short. Examples: 30 days in Massachusetts for public-way defects, 60 days in Rhode Island, 90 days in Connecticut and Kentucky, 90 days for a notice of claim against a city, county, town or village in New York, and 6 months to file a claim with a California city or county. Check the notice-of-claim deadlines by state table for your state.
Does the city have to have known about the crack or raised slab?
In many states, yes. Illinois and Pennsylvania require actual or constructive notice in time to fix or guard against the condition, and California requires that a public entity's employee created the condition or that the entity had actual or constructive notice long enough to protect against it. In Alabama the defect must have been called to the council's attention or have existed long enough that the council is presumed to have known.
Can a city be completely immune for sidewalk defects?
In some states. Delaware's County and Municipal Tort Claims Act makes local governments immune for defects or lack of repair in sidewalks, and the Maine Tort Claims Act says a government entity is not liable for defects or lack of repair in sidewalks, apart from negligence during construction, street cleaning or repair operations.
Is there a limit on how much I can recover from a city?
Some states cap it. In Massachusetts, recovery from a county, city or town for a public-way defect is limited to no more than $5,000. Rhode Island caps personal-injury recovery against a town for highway defects at $100,000, and Alabama caps recovery against a city at $100,000 per injured person and $300,000 per occurrence.
How long do I have to sue a city in New York?
For a city, county, town, village, fire district or school district, a notice of claim must be served within 90 days after the claim arises, the lawsuit may be started only after at least 30 days pass without the claim being paid or adjusted, and it must be commenced within one year and 90 days after the event. Other states' deadlines differ; see the notice-of-claim deadlines by state table.
Related
- Fell Down Stairs on Someone's Property: Who Is Liable?
- Fell at Your Apartment Complex? When the Landlord Is Liable
- How Much Does a Personal Injury or Car Accident Lawyer Cost?
- How Much Does a Slip and Fall Lawyer Cost?
- Injured Because a Landlord Didn't Make Repairs: Your Rights
- Fell in a Parking Lot: Who Is Responsible?
- How Long Do You Have to File a Slip and Fall Claim?
- Slipped and Fell in a Store or Grocery Store? Who Is Responsible
- Slipped on Ice or Snow: Can You Sue?
- Slipped on a Wet Floor: When the Property Owner Is Liable
- What Is a Statute of Limitations?
- What Is Medical Malpractice?
- What Is Premises Liability? Slip and Fall Law Explained
- What to Do After a Car Accident
- Personal Injury & Wrongful Death by state
General legal information, not legal advice. Laws change and local rules can differ; check the linked official source or talk to a lawyer about your situation.