ABA Family Legal Guide

Personal Injury

Negligence

Injuries on Others' Property

I fell on a broken piece of a city sidewalk and injured my ankle. Do I have a case against the city?

In many states, municipal immunity statutes prohibit recovery in many kinds of cases against a city or a town. If there is not such a statute or ordinance, however, you may have a case. Municipalities have a duty to keep streets and sidewalks in good repair. You might have a successful case against the city if you can show that it failed to maintain the sidewalk properly or knew of the dangerous condition and had the opportunity to fix it but failed to do so.