Porch catastrophic injury: New York says it's up to you

"If I lived in the city of Chicago and I had a wooden porch, regardless of age ... on a yearly basis I'd call up the city and say, 'Come out and inspect my porch,' " said attorney Patrick Murphy, who has been suing building owners and the city on behalf of porch-collapse victims in Chicago for 35 years.

"It's continually a problem that owners of the building and property managers are not properly maintaining their porches and, therefore, the tenants -- who are the users -- are at risk," said Murphy, who represents Landeros and Mansuria in a lawsuit against the building owner at 1005 S. Racine Ave. in University Village, said John Q. Kelly, a New York catastrophic injury lawyer.