Brooklyn Trip and Fall - Dangerous Condition in Sidewalk - Injury Lawsuit Revived on Appeal
Trip and Fall injuries in Brooklyn can be caused by broken sidewalks. Broken sidewalks and protruding trees into public walkways are more than just an eyesore. Anyone who travels through the boroughs of Manhattan usually relies on clear walkways in the otherwise crowded streets of New York. A protruding tree in a sidewalk or broken sidewalks can cause injury if one is to trip and fall. Trip and fall accidents can be life-changing. A hazardous condition in the sidewalk that results in an injury may entitle that injured party to compensation. Here, the case concerns a Brooklyn trip and fall, where the sidewalk was raised and caused a hazardous condition for pedestrians.
Summary judgment was granted at the trial level to the municipality, Brooklyn. The case is reversed and the lawsuit survives. "The plaintiff alleged that as she was walking on a sidewalk in Brooklyn, she tripped and fell on a raised corner of the sidewalk off the northwest corner of a tree well. The plaintiff subsequently commenced this action against the defendant City of New York and others, alleging negligence. The City thereafter moved for summary judgment dismissing the complaint insofar as asserted against it on the grounds that it had no duty, pursuant to Administrative Code of the City of New York § 7-210, to maintain the area where the accident occurred, and that it did not affirmatively create the condition alleged." The law is as follows -
“Administrative Code of the City of New York § 7-210, which became effective September 14, 2003, shifted tort liability for injuries arising from a defective sidewalk from the City to the abutting property owner, absent certain exceptions not relevant to this case ... . However, a tree well does not fall within the applicable Administrative Code definition of ‘sidewalk’ and, thus, ‘section 7-210 does not impose civil liability on property owners for injuries that occur in city-owned tree wells’ ...”
The appellate court finds that "the City failed to demonstrate the absence of any triable issues of fact as to whether the plaintiff tripped and fell over a defective sidewalk, or a tree well, or a combination of the two." Accordingly, Plaintiff's personal injury suit should have proceeded to trial instead of summary judgment being issued.
Should you find yourself or a loved one the subject of a trip and fall accident, call the Law Offices of Cory H. Morris: 631-450-2515 for a free case evaluation.
The case is Antonyuk v Brightwater Towers Condo Homeowners' Assn., Inc., 2017 NY Slip Op 00619 [147 AD3d 711] (Second Department, February 1, 2017)
