July 17, 2019

Question

I was walking on a bridge this morning and I twisted my ankle by stepping on a open crack on the bridge. I feel due to the pain and my ankle hurt, to the point I'm hoping. Later in the day I noticed my feet swollen up and I cant walk. Painful I cried even to get out the car and walk to a step. I had to come to the clinic and they gave me crotches and bandages my left ankle. The slight movement my ankle pains me. Cant work, cant drive due to my sprain ankle.

Answer

A Notice of Claim needs to be filed with 90 days. Depending on the bridge, it could be the responsibility of the NYC Dept of Transportation, MTA Bridges & Tunnels or the Port Authority of NY & NJ. I've successfully handled quite a few of these cases; they are technically complex because there's almost always a legal battle to obtain records of prior inspections to show that the authority knew about the hazard but didn't fix it. If an x-ray shows you have a fracture, and the open crack was a hazard for pedestrians, it may be a case worth pursuing. A photo of the 'open crack' will be needed.


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