Court: No Statutory Duty to Install a “Handrail or Grab-Bar” in Apartment Bathroom

In Balleram v. 11P, LLC, 2016 NY Slip Op 06458 (App. Div. 1st Dept. Oct. 4, 2016), the court affirmed a lower court’s order granting summary judgment dismissing plaintiff’s complaint.

Briefly, plaintiff sued to recover damages for personal injuries she allegedly sustained as a result of her slipping and falling while standing in her bathtub taking a shower in her apartment.

In a short decision/order, the court explained: “Plaintiff’s expert failed to identify any applicable statute or rule that requires a landowner to install a handrail or grab-bar in the bathroom of an apartment. Defendant did not breach its common-law duty of care by declining plaintiff’s requests for a handrail, since the bathtub was in good working order and not alleged to be defective or hazardous for ordinary use.”

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