“Community Safety Above All” — Attorney Lantao Sun’s Public Talk on Injury Rights Draws a Full House

• Aug 8, 2026 · CCHC Gospel Plaza, Flushing (+ live stream) · a full house
• Speaker: Lantao Sun (senior partner, Sacco & Fillas; 30+ years, 4,500+ injury cases)
• Car accidents & insurance: 90-day window vs. city vehicles · UM/SUM & spousal-liability gaps · new e-bike rules
• Slip-and-falls: the four elements of negligence · the 4-hour snow-clearing rule · five things to do after a fall
• Litigation: small-claims / civil / supreme court roles · Notice of Claim to sue the City · a real 311 report case
• Moderated by Mingli Chen · opening remarks by AAAA president Yanfei Ran · greetings from community leaders

On August 8, 2026, AAAA’s “Legal Insights” public-education talk was held at the CCHC Gospel Plaza in Flushing. Hosted by the Asian American Attorneys Association (AAAA) and co-hosted by the Chinese Christian Herald Crusades (CCHC), the session featured Lantao Sun, a senior partner at Sacco & Fillas, LLP, on “Community Safety Above All — Preventing Slip-and-Fall Injuries & an Introduction to the Litigation Process.” The community turned out in force — the room was packed, and the talk was streamed live online.

To open, AAAA president Yanfei Ran introduced the Association: founded in 2023, AAAA is a federally registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit with fifteen professional committees spanning immigration, corporate, litigation, real estate, wealth-transfer, and tax law. It works to build a mutual-support platform for Asian American attorneys and to provide free legal consultations and public-education talks for the Chinese and Asian community. She noted that the speaker, attorney Sun, also serves as an AAAA director and chair of its Development Committee and its Tort & Personal Injury Committee, with more than thirty years in practice and over 4,500 personal-injury cases handled.

Jianli Hou, founding president of the New York Beijing Association, offered greetings on behalf of the community and commended AAAA’s public-education work. Yiping Wu, president of the Asian American Coalition (AAC), spoke on the theme “Community Safety Above All” — a theme he himself proposed, and one for which attorney Sun prepared for months. The talk was moderated by attorney Mingli Chen, an AAAA director and chair of its Litigation Committee, whose witty, good-humored style added much to the occasion.

Over ninety minutes, attorney Sun moved from car accidents to slip-and-falls. On accidents and insurance: a collision with a city vehicle carries only a 90-day window to file; UM/SUM (uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage) and “spousal-liability coverage” are the two gaps most often found in Chinese families’ auto policies; and new rules matter to every rider — e-bikes and e-scooters must be registered, and e-bikes designed to exceed 20 mph do not cover an injured rider’s medical costs.

On slip-and-fall liability, he explained the four elements of negligence — duty of care, breach of duty, proximate cause, and actual damages; New York City’s rule to clear snow within four hours after snowfall stops and the “sidewalk responsibility” system; and the five things a pedestrian should do right after a fall: take photos for evidence, note the time and place, find witnesses, give an accurate account at the ER, and consult a lawyer as soon as possible.

On procedure, he clarified the roles of small-claims court, civil court, and the New York Supreme Court, the jurisdiction of New York State’s four federal courts, and key steps such as filing a Notice of Claim with the City Comptroller before suing the City.

He also shared a real 311 case: his intern, Ting Yang, spotted a raised metal plate at a Main Street intersection in Flushing, reported it online through 311 and received a tracking number, and the city’s Department of Transportation fixed it within three days. As attorney Sun put it, this shows that “one ordinary resident’s action can prevent an accident before it happens” — the tragic Con Edison manhole death in Manhattan being the painful opposite, a hazard no one reported.

The Q&A was lively. A pointed question from Jian Jiang, a former president of the Beijing Association, sparked deeper discussion; and president Hou drew on his own experience to show how solid insurance coverage, a car’s safety systems, and a complete dashcam record all interlock when an accident actually happens. Afterward, attorney Sun reflected: “Five minutes on stage takes ten years of work off it — without thirty years of experience, you simply can’t deliver this.” He hopes such talks will continue, drawing more attorneys to give back to the community.

Guests also included former Beijing Association presidents Jie Hu and Jian Jiang, vice president Ming Jian, and secretary-general Amy Wang, along with Sacco & Fillas attorneys Philip Reid and Emily Huang. Sacco & Fillas is the largest law firm in Queens, headquartered in Astoria with five offices across Manhattan, New Jersey, and beyond, and 46 attorneys; Sun is one of its six partners. Volunteers from president Wu’s AAC community-patrol team helped on site and prepared refreshments for attendees, and numerous media outlets — including the World Journal, Sing Tao Daily, and The China Press — covered the event.

AAAA said it will continue its “Legal Insights” series of public-education talks, helping community residents know, understand, and use the law, and putting legal knowledge to work in service of the community.