Location: NYC
About a year ago, during a particularly bad winter in NYC, I had a vehicle parked legally on a public street. After heavy snowfall, city snowplows pushed snow around the vehicle and essentially buried it.
For context, the vehicle was not registered or insured at the time. However, it had a license plate registered to my LLC.
Fast-forward to now, and I receive a letter from an attorney’s office requesting insurance information regarding an incident that allegedly happened around that time. I later learned that the person making the claim is an NYPD officer.
My understanding is that the officer may have slipped on snow or ice while approaching the vehicle to issue a parking ticket. I don’t know the full details of what allegedly happened or exactly where he fell.
There are a few things that make this situation even more confusing
The vehicle was parked on a public street and had been surrounded by snow pushed there by city snowplows.
The parking ticket was issued for commercial vehicle parking in a residential area.
However, the license plates on the vehicle were not commercial plates.
The plates were registered to my LLC, but not to that particular vehicle.
My LLC has no significant assets and did not have commercial insurance covering this vehicle.
I’m honestly overwhelmed by this situation. I don’t understand how my LLC could be responsible for someone slipping on naturally accumulated snow and ice, especially when the vehicle was legally parked.
Should I contact the attorney’s office that sent the letter and explain that the LLC has no insurance or significant assets? Should I avoid speaking with them until I consult an attorney? Is there any possibility that the municipality could share responsibility for the snow and ice conditions?
I’m also wondering whether the officer’s incorrect classification of the vehicle as commercial could be relevant to the case.
I would really appreciate advice from anyone familiar with New York personal injury law, LLC liability, or similar situations. I’m not sure what my next steps should be.
Edit 1: Yes I know the car wasn’t truly parked “legally” due to having no insurance and plates off another vehicle. That’s grounds for getting the vehicle impounded or getting a parking ticket, not a personal injury lawsuit.
Edit 2: Thank you all for the advice, even the people berating me for parking an unregistered and uninsured vehicle on a public street. After doing some further digging, I found out that the officer was literally hired the day before the incident happened. (he’s been in the NYPD for a few years now but just started the day before at that specific prescient) This has fraud/cash grab written all over it.