Personal Injury

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In Hall v. United Founders, Ltd., a dog bite case, the Appellate Division, First Department reversed a summary judgment for defendant dismissing plaintiff’s complaint. Plaintiff sued after being attacked by a dog being dept by a construction site night watchman. Defendant United Founders, a general contractor, was constructing buildings on two adjacent properties.  It hired…

Read More Dog Bite Case Continues; Issue of Fact Existed as to Awareness of Offending Dog’s Vicious Propensities
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In Blatt v. L’Pogee, Inc., the Appellate Division, Second Department, recently held that the trial court properly denied summary judgment to defendant in this trip-and-fall case. Plaintiff, a salesperson employed by defendants as an independent contractor, claimed that he tripped and fell on a hazardous condition created by another independent contractor salesperson employed by defendants.…

Read More Summary Judgment Properly Denied to Defendant in Trip-and-Fall Case Under the “Nondelegable Duty Exception” to Non-Liability for Independent Contractor’s Acts
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In Bynoe v. Target Corporation, the Second Circuit recently vacated the trial court’s award of summary judgment to defendant.  In this slip-and-fall case, plaintiff Bynoe sued after slipping and falling on a puddle of syrup from a fallen Del Monte fruit cup in a Brooklyn Target. The court’s decision turned on the issue of “constructive notice”.…

Read More Expert Testimony Creates Issue of Fact in Slip-and-Fall Case
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In Yuk Ping Cheng Chan v. Young T. Lee & Son Realty Corp., the Appellate Division, First Department affirmed a denial of summary judgment for defendant in a slip-and-fall case. Plaintiff alleged that she slipped and fell on a “large patch of grease” on the public sidewalk abutting premises owned by Yount T. Lee &…

Read More Slip-and-Fall Case Continues; Nexus Between Hazardous Condition and Circumstances of Fall Shown
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In Kruk v City of New York, the Appellate Division, First Department, on December 19, 2013 unanimously affirmed the lower court’s order granting summary judgment dismissing plaintiffs’ claim under Labor Law § 241(6). Plaintiff was injured while using a power saw, when “the plywood he was cutting broke, pushing his left hand into the saw’s blade.”…

Read More Labor Law 241(6) Claim Dismissed; Power Saw Had Necessary Protective Guards
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In Caronia v. Philip Morris USA, Inc., decided December 17, 2013, the New York Court of Appeals addressed the following question: Under New York Law, may a current or former longtime heavy smoker who has not been diagnosed with a smoking-related disease, and who is not under investigation by a physician for such a suspected…

Read More New York Court of Appeals Refuses to Create New Cause of Action for “Medical Monitoring”
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In Anastasiya M. v New York City Bd. of Educ., decided December 4, 2013, the Appellate Division, Second Department reversed a summary judgment for defendant in a case arising from a gym-class injury. Plaintiffs sued “after the infant plaintiff allegedly was injured during a school gym class when she fell while walking backwards in an accelerated…

Read More Gym Class Injury Case Survives Summary Judgment
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A case decided by the First Department today, Dillard v. New York City Housing Authority, illustrates the circumstances under which the element of proximate cause may be resolved as a matter of law.  The court reversed a summary judgment for defendant, finding an issue of fact as to plaintiff’s comparative negligence. Here: Plaintiff, a resident…

Read More Plaintiff Was Not Sole Proximate Cause of Slip and Fall on Snow/Ice-Covered Steps
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In Madera v. Target Corp., the Southern District of New York denied defendant Target Corporation’s motion for summary judgment.  Plaintiff sued after slipping and falling on a puddle of water in one of defendants’ stores. While ordinarily personal injury suits are brought in state court, here the defendant removed the case to federal court on…

Read More Slip and Fall Case Continues; Store’s Announcement 30 Minutes Prior to Fall Suggested That Store Had Notice of Defective Condition
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