(914) 220-1086The New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department granted partial summary judgment to the plaintiff in a ladder / elevation case under Labor Law 240. The plaintiff was an electrician for Atlas-Acon Electric Service who was working on NBC property in New York City. The plaintiff ascended an A-frame ladder in order to replace the ballasts […]
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NY Landlord Liable for Corroded and Dilapidated Stairs
The New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Fourth Department affirmed a trial court’s order denying summary judgment to a landlord sued by his renter after a nasty fall down the stairs. The plaintiff lived in a duplex owned by the defendant landlord. A set of exterior metal stairs at the building led to the front entrance. […]
Glass Door Falls on Construction Worker Because of Broken Hinge; Denial of Summary Judgment for Defendant Affirmed by First Department
The New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department affirmed a trial court’s order denying summary judgment for two defendants after a glass door fell on the construction worker plaintiff. The plaintiff was working at a construction site in New York City. The site was owned by Prudential, and Pinnacle was managing the project. The […]
Second Department Rules in Favor of Defendant School in Falling Debris Case
The New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Second Department reversed a trial court order that denied the defendant’s motion to dismiss in a personal injury case involving falling debris. The plaintiff was a teenage student at Locust Valley High School at the time of the accident. The plaintiff volunteered with the high school’s stage crew. On the […]
Property Owners May Still Be Liable For Injuries Caused By “Open & Obvious” Condition
The New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Second Department affirmed a trial court order denying a school district defendant’s motion for summary judgment after the plaintiff tripped over a pole vault box and sustained injuries. In 2010, the plaintiff went to Longwood High School to watch her niece’s softball game. While walking across a field at […]
Police Officer Who Ran Over Pedestrian May Be Liable for Wrongful Death
Late at night on March 30, 2015, a West New York police officer was making his way to work. Driving in his personal vehicle, a blue 2013 Honda Accord, the rookie officer was making his way down JFK Boulevard in North Bergen when he encountered the victim. The victim was a young man who was […]
Plaintiff Slip and Fall Case Dismissed for Testifying She Fell at Wrong Location
The New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Second Department dismissed a personal injury case against a building owner and Chinese restaurant when the plaintiff mistakenly sued the wrong entity. While walking down the sidewalk on Fifth Avenue in Brooklyn, the plaintiff tripped over a cellar door and fell, sustaining injuries. She brought a personal injury suit against […]
Shopper Killed in Great Neck, New York after Car Crashes into AT&T Store
On the morning of Monday, March 30, 2015, an elderly driver of a 2006 Toyota Rav4 drove into a shopping center parking lot in Great Neck, New York on Northern Boulevard by Nassau Road. For some reason, the driver was unable to bring her car to a stop in a parking spot in front of […]
A Rear-End Car Collision Is a Prima Facie Case of Negligence
The New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Second Department affirmed an order denying defendant driver’s motion for summary judgment in a rear-end car accident case. In 2011, the two plaintiffs were in their car waiting at a red light at the intersection of Ninth Avenue and 49th Street in Brooklyn, New York. While waiting, the […]
Study: Eating while Driving Accounts for 80% of All Car Accidents
Each year, an astonishing 1.3 million people die in car crashes, and a whopping 20-50 million are injured. Car accidents are the 9th leading cause of death among adults and the #1 cause of death among young people. These crashes cost U.S. citizens over $230.6 billion each year. The vast majority of these accidents are caused […]
Rockland Nonprofit Charged with Forging Medicaid Claims and Lying in Medicaid Audit
The nonprofit Mental Health Association of Rockland County, Inc. has agreed to settle with the New York State Office of the Attorney General for $304,000 in response to allegations that the nonprofit altered Medicaid records. In its settlement agreement, the nonprofit admitted to the allegations and accepted responsibility for its actions. Medicaid is a state […]
Elder-against-Elder Abuse in Nursing Homes
When we discuss civil liability that can arise from care of elders in a nursing home, we typically describe such negligence as inadequate living conditions, negligent nurses and orderlies, ignorance of medical needs, even physical, emotional, and verbal abuse. Often, it’s exactly this kind of behavior from nursing home owners and employees that leads to […]
Long Island Nursing Home Fined After Resident Chokes to Death
Woodhaven Nursing Home, located in Suffolk County, was fined $21,937.50 by the Department of Health after an unsupervised resident choked on a sandwich in December, 2013. The resident was allowed to eat unsupervised despite being a known choking risk due to underlying conditions including dysphagia and impaired cognition. The nursing home had also implemented an […]
First Department Upholds Summary Judgment for Defendant in Bronx Nursing Home Action
A March, 2014 Decision and Order by the Supreme Court Appellate Division, First Department, upheld a lower court’s finding of summary judgment for a defendant nursing home. The underlying complaint, negligence against the Bronx nursing home for failure to properly treat and heal a pressure ulcer, leading to amputation, was therefore dismissed. Plaintiff-appellant had been […]
Diving Board Liability and the Assumption of Risk
This post discusses a personal injury concept that, while at times confusing, often plays an integral role in determining liability: assumption of risk. Assumption of risk is a defense in a personal injury action in which a defendant claims that the plaintiff voluntarily undertook an activity with the knowledge that there is an inherent danger […]
New York Personal Injury: Who Owes a Duty?
As we’ve discussed before on this blog, personal injury liability is determined in a manner that (in theory at least) resembles a checklist. Did the defendant owe a duty to the plaintiff? Check. Did the defendant breach that duty? Check. Did the breach of that duty cause harm to the plaintiff? Check. Duty, breach, causation, and harm: […]
Liability for Sidewalk Accidents: Continued
In a previous post, we went over the laws governing which party is liable when a plaintiff trips and falls on a defective sidewalk in the City of New York. Brief review: NYC’s Sidewalk Law places liability on “abutting” property owners – those who own the land next to that portion of the sidewalk – with exceptions […]
Utica Nursing Home Nurse’s Aide Charged with Sexual Abuse of Elderly Resident
New York State Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman recently announced that John Tamba, a 48 year old CNA from Utica, NY was indicted in October on nine counts of abusing a female patient. Tamba worked at the Focus Rehabilitation and Nursing Center at Utica, located at 1445 Kemble St, Utica, NY, and is being held […]
Second Department Allows “Expert” Testimony in Brooklyn Slip and Fall Action
On September, 24 the Supreme Court, Appellate Division Second Department overturned a decision by the Supreme Court, Kings County which granted a motion made by the defendants in that case for judgment as a matter of law pursuant to CPLR 4401. CPLR 4401 allows either party to ask for a judgment as a matter of […]
Two Certified Nurse’s Aides at the Terrace View Long Term Care Facility in Buffalo Charged with Abuse and Neglect
In September the NYS Attorney General’s office announced that two certified nurse’s aides at the Erie County Medical Center Skilled Nursing Facility in Buffalo, which has recently changed its name to the Terrace View Long Term Care Facility, have been charged with neglecting an elderly resident of the facility. Donna Laury and Nakeia Green were […]
Case Study: The “Serious Injury” Threshold
Lonnie Gates was rear ended by a truck owned by Sears, Roebuck and Co. and driven by Gene H. Longden. Under New York State’s no-fault insurance rule, a person injured in an automobile accident may recover for medical bills and other economic damages from the insurance company covering the vehicle they are riding in, or are hit by, regardless […]
Syracuse Police Officer Who Ran Red Light Without Stopping Liable for Injuries To Other Driver
In Ruiz v Cope, the Appellate Division, Fourth Department affirmed a decision by the Supreme Court of Onondaga County to award a man money damages after a non-jury trial against a police officer, Brendan Cope, the Syracuse Police Department, and the county. At the time of the accident Cope was being field trained under a […]
Appellate Department Upholds Right of Plaintiff to Impeach Doctor Based Upon 1099 Records
In Dominicci v Ford, an appeal to the Appellate Division, Fourth Department from a July 3, 2014 decision by the Supreme Court of Monroe County, the appellate court affirmed the lower courts decision to deny a request from State Farm Automobile Insurance Company to quash a subpoena for records belonging to a doctor working for […]
Court: Empty Dolly May Create Unsafe Condition When Left Unattended in Store Aisle
In Russo v Home Goods, Inc. the defendant Home Goods, Inc. was accused of creating a tripping hazard by leaving an empty dolly, otherwise known as a “pallet jack” in the aisle of its store. The Appellate Division, Second Department reversed the Supreme Court’s finding of summary judgment for the defendant, ruling that a triable issue of […]
Rye Nursing Home Receives Deficiency for Pressure Sore Care
The Osborn, a Westchester nursing home located in Rye, received a citation by the Department of Health in February, 2014 for failure to provide proper treatment to a resident with a pressure ulcer. Per federal regulations, a facility must provide necessary treatment to a resident who enters with a pressure ulcer. In the case detailed […]
