Along Queens Boulevard near the Forest Hills–Rego Park line, the Trylon, a 1939 Art Deco movie palace named for the famous spire of the 1939 World’s Fair, still catches the eye of passersby. Around it and throughout Forest Hills, cars disappear into parking garages: under apartment towers, behind medical buildings, beneath shopping strips and in commercial lots near Austin Street and the LIRR. Garages solve a parking problem, but they create a set of hazards all their own.
Garage injuries are unusual because they can involve two kinds of law at once: motor vehicle law, when cars collide or hit pedestrians, and premises liability, when a property owner fails to keep the space safe. A parking garage accident lawyer in Forest Hills sorts out which applies, and often both do. Let’s take a tour of a typical garage, level by level.
Level 1: The Entrance and Exit Ramps
Hazards: Steep ramps, blind curves, poor lighting, narrow lanes, and drivers entering and exiting at once. Where the garage exit meets the sidewalk, cars cross a pedestrian path, often with walls blocking the view.
The law: When two cars collide on a ramp, it is a motor vehicle accident: New York’s no-fault system pays medical bills and part of lost wages regardless of fault, and the serious injury threshold applies to pain-and-suffering claims. When a car exiting a garage strikes a pedestrian on the sidewalk, the driver generally must yield to pedestrians before crossing a sidewalk (VTL Section 1173 requires stopping before driving onto a sidewalk area from a driveway or alley). The garage owner may share responsibility if it failed to provide mirrors, warning lights or adequate sightlines.
Level 2: The Pay Station and Attendant Area
Hazards: Pedestrians walking to kiosks, attendants moving cars, and drivers distracted by payment screens. In valet garages, attendants drive customers’ cars.
The law: If a garage attendant damages your car or injures you while moving a vehicle, the garage operator is generally responsible for its employee’s negligence. Under New York law, when you leave your car and keys with a garage, a bailment relationship may arise, giving the operator duties regarding your vehicle. Garages often post signs limiting liability for property damage; New York’s General Obligations Law Section 5-325 limits the ability of garages that accept vehicles for compensation to exempt themselves from liability for negligence.
Level 3: The Parking Floors
Hazards: Cars backing out of spaces, speeding down aisles, pedestrians walking between parked cars, oil slicks, puddles from leaks or rain tracked in, potholes, broken wheel stops, and low concrete beams.
The law: Backing and aisle collisions are motor vehicle accidents with no-fault and serious injury rules. Falls caused by oil, water, potholes or broken wheel stops are premises liability claims. The injured person generally must show the owner or operator created the hazard or had actual or constructive notice of it and failed to fix it or warn about it in a reasonable time. Cleaning and inspection logs, prior complaints and maintenance records are key evidence.
Level 4: Stairwells and Elevators
Hazards: Dim lighting, broken handrails, worn or uneven steps, debris, slippery surfaces, and elevators that stop out of level or have doors that close improperly.
The law: Premises liability applies. New York City’s Building Code and related regulations set standards for stair dimensions, handrails and lighting in many buildings, and violations can be evidence of negligence. Elevator injuries may involve the property owner and the elevator maintenance contractor, which typically has a duty to inspect and repair. Owners must also comply with city elevator inspection requirements.
Level 5: The Roof or Top Deck
Hazards: Ice and snow in winter, standing water, wind, and uneven expansion joints.
The law: Owners must take reasonable steps to address snow and ice after a storm ends, subject to the storm-in-progress doctrine, which generally protects owners from liability for falls during a storm and for a reasonable time afterward.
A Special Category: Assaults and Crimes in Garages
Garages can be isolated, especially at night. When someone is assaulted or robbed in a garage, the owner may be liable under a theory of negligent security if the crime was reasonably foreseeable, for example because of prior similar incidents, and the owner failed to take reasonable precautions such as adequate lighting, working locks, functioning cameras or security staff. These claims are fact-intensive and depend heavily on the property’s history.
Who Can Be Responsible in a Garage Case?
- Drivers who cause collisions or strike pedestrians.
- The garage operator, often a company that leases and runs the garage.
- The property owner, which may be different from the operator.
- Maintenance and cleaning contractors.
- Elevator maintenance companies.
- Security contractors, in negligent security cases.
- The City of New York, for municipal garages or adjacent sidewalks in some cases, with a 90-day Notice of Claim requirement.
Leases and service contracts determine who controlled what, and often contain indemnification and insurance provisions that affect which insurer ultimately pays.
What To Do After a Garage Injury
- Get medical care.
- Report the incident to the garage attendant or management and ask for an incident report copy.
- Photograph the hazard: oil, water, pothole, broken stair, lighting, the area around it, and any warning signs or their absence.
- Photograph vehicles and plates if a car was involved, and exchange information.
- Get witness names.
- Ask management to preserve video; garages often have cameras.
- Keep your parking ticket or receipt.
- File for no-fault within 30 days if a vehicle was involved.
- Talk to a lawyer before giving statements to insurers.
Deadlines
- No-fault: 30 days for motor vehicle injuries.
- Premises liability and negligence lawsuits: generally three years.
- Claims against the city: Notice of Claim within 90 days.
- Wrongful death: two years.
For city building safety records, see the NYC Department of Buildings, which also oversees periodic parking structure inspections required under city rules.
Talk to Mushiyev Law
We handle garage, parking lot and premises liability cases across Queens and Nassau. We identify every responsible party and preserve the video and records that prove what happened. There is no attorney fee unless we recover money for you. Visit our home page or contact us.
Directions From Forest Hills to Our Rosedale Office
Mushiyev Law is at 1 Cross Island Plaza, Suite 325, Rosedale, NY 11422, beside the Cross Island Parkway and the Belt Parkway interchange.
From the Trylon on Queens Boulevard, take the Van Wyck Expressway south to the Belt Parkway east and the Cross Island Parkway to Rosedale.
Garage Injuries We See Most in Forest Hills
Pedestrians struck by exiting cars. Many Forest Hills garages exit directly onto busy sidewalks along Queens Boulevard, Austin Street and side streets. Drivers emerging from a dark ramp into daylight are temporarily blinded, and walls block their view of the sidewalk. Pedestrians walking past at the wrong moment can be seriously hurt. These cases often involve both the driver and the garage, if mirrors, warning signals or speed bumps were missing.
Falls on ramps and in aisles. Oil, coolant and water accumulate on smooth concrete, especially on ramps where cars brake. People walking to and from their cars, often carrying bags or children, slip without warning.
Trips over wheel stops and curbs. Concrete wheel stops, painted the same gray as the floor, are a classic trip hazard, especially when broken or out of position. Lighting and visibility matter in these cases.
Stairwell falls. Garage stairwells are often poorly maintained, dimly lit and used less than building stairs, so hazards go unreported.
Low-clearance injuries. Pipes, beams and signs hanging low over walkways can cause head injuries, particularly for tall people or those carrying items overhead.
Residential Garages in Apartment Buildings
Many Forest Hills residents park in garages beneath their own co-op or rental buildings. If you are injured in your building’s garage, the owner or managing agent generally owes you the same duty of reasonable care as any other visitor. Residents can help their own future claims by reporting hazards in writing to building management and keeping copies, because prior complaints help prove notice.
Medical Office Garages
Forest Hills is full of medical practices, and their patients often park in attached garages. Patients may be elderly, on crutches, recovering from procedures, or sedated companions may be driving. Garages serving medical buildings should anticipate those users. When they do not, and a patient falls or is struck, the foreseeability of vulnerable users can strengthen the claim.
Property Damage in Garages
Damage to your car in a garage, from an attendant, a falling piece of concrete or another driver, can be claimed against the responsible party. Photograph the damage before leaving and report it to management immediately. Keep your ticket.
Safety Tips for Forest Hills Garages
Walk along the edges of garage aisles rather than down the center, and make eye contact with drivers before crossing their path. Watch for oil and water on ramps, particularly after rain. Hold handrails in stairwells and report broken lights or rails to management in writing. When exiting a garage by car, stop fully before the sidewalk, let your eyes adjust to the light, and look both ways for pedestrians and cyclists before pulling out onto Queens Boulevard or Austin Street.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is liable if I slip on oil in a Forest Hills parking garage?
Potentially the garage operator, the property owner or a maintenance contractor, if they created the hazard or knew or should have known about it and failed to address it.
Is a car crash inside a garage covered by no-fault?
Yes. Collisions between vehicles or with pedestrians in garages are motor vehicle accidents, and no-fault applies. File within 30 days.
Can a garage avoid liability with a sign saying it is not responsible?
Not entirely. New York law limits the ability of garages that accept vehicles for compensation to exempt themselves from liability for their own negligence.
Can I sue if I was assaulted in a garage?
Possibly, under a negligent security theory, if the crime was foreseeable and the owner failed to take reasonable precautions.
How much does a parking garage accident lawyer in Forest Hills cost?
Mushiyev Law works on contingency: no attorney fee unless we recover money for you.
This article is general information, not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.