Here is the recent complaint filed by Vernon Steward and his wife against the American Museum of the Moving Image. Plaintiffs allege that, while on the 3rd floor of the museum, Mr. Steward “was caused to trip over a baby/infant who was on the floor causing him to fall to the floor.” He seeks to recover for his…
Read More Man Trips Over Baby in Museum, SuesIn Topchieva v. Lovett Co., LLC, the Appellate Division, First Department held: As clearly depicted on the surveillance video included in the record, plaintiff was injured when she slipped and fell immediately upon entering the lobby of defendants’ building. One of the lobby’s double glass doors was closed and locked, while the door through which plaintiff…
Read More Video of Mat Placement Results in Continuation of Lobby Slip/Fall CaseIn an Order issued on August 12, 2014 in the matter of Gaifman v. City of New York, Index No. 155965-2014 – a sidewalk trip-and-fall case – the Supreme Court, New York County (Judge Freed) denied plaintiff’s application to file a late notice of claim. According to the supporting memorandum of law in the Gaifman case, plaintiff tripped and…
Read More Court Rules That City is not Liable When Sidewalk Defects Are Caused By Tree RootsIn DiVetri v. ABM Janitorial Services (decided July 24, 2014) the Appellate Division, First Department affirmed the denial of defendants’ motion for summary judgment. In this personal injury case, plaintiff slipped and fell on water she tracked onto the marble lobby floor of a building she entered. The water came from a hose being used by defendant’s…
Read More Watering Sidewalk + Marble Floor + No Mats = Continuation of Slip/Fall CaseHere is the complaint recently filed in the New York Supreme Court, Bronx County, by Ajanaffy Njewadda and her husband against various defendants, including Showtime Networks and the New York City Transit, the Metropolitan Transit Authority. In sum, she claims that she was caused to fall and sustain injuries after being shocked by a stair-spanning advertisement (stairvertisement?),…
Read More Dexter Trip/Fall LawsuitIn DeSimone v. City of New York, decided July 3, 2014, the First Department held: Plaintiff’s Labor Law § 241(6) claim was improperly dismissed on the ground that plaintiff was not covered under the statute. Plaintiff testified that he was an onsite project manager, employed by one of multiple general contractors on the subject construction…
Read More Project Manager Covered By Labor Law 241(6) in Construction Accident Case, Even Though He Did Not Perform “Labor-Intense” WorkThe law requires municipalities, such as New York City, to maintain their streets and highways in a reasonably safe condition for people who use them. However, anyone seeking to recover for personal injuries arising from a defective condition on a New York City “street, highway, bridge, wharf, culvert, sidewalk or crosswalk” must – in addition…
Read More New York City’s “Prior Written Notice” RequirementIn Henderson v. City of New York, plaintiff alleged that she tripped and fell on a manhole in a crosswalk at the intersection of Second Avenue and 74th Street in Manhattan. She claimed, in her notice of claim, that she fell due to a “raised, cracked, depressed, missing, broken and/or mis-leveled pavement and/or manhole cover…
Read More No Explicit Denial of Lack of Prior Written Notice Results in Denial of Summary Judgment to City in Trip/Fall CaseA recent First Department decision, Cambio v. City of New York (decided June 19, 2014), underscores the notice function of a “notice of claim” and held that the plaintiff’s subsequent deviation from allegations in his notice of claim mandated dismissal. The facts: Plaintiff, who is legally blind, alleged in his notice of claim that he…
Read More Trip/Fall Claims Dismissed Where Litigation Theory Deviated From That Asserted in Notice of ClaimIn Laguerre v. Kessler, a premises liability/trip-and-fall case, the Appellate Division, Second Department affirmed the denial of defendant’s motion for summary judgment. Initially, the court held that the “defendant established his prima facie entitlement to judgment as a matter of law by submitting proof that there was no defect in the subject carpeting, and that the carpeting…
Read More Stair Trip/Fall Case Continues