Slip & fall accidents cause personal injuries.

Plaintiff was seriously injured when she slipped and fell entering the lobby of her apartment building at approximately 9 P.M. which is owned by the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA). On the day of the accident, the plaintiff was returning from a trip (no pun intended) and it was established that it been raining on and off since 2 P.M. that afternoon. Plaintiff maintains that as she entered the lobby she took one step and on her second step "slipped and fell badly". She landed on her right leg, right knee, and head sustaining serious injuries. She contends that NYCHA never places mats on the floor near the entrance when it rains or snows.

NYCHA moved for summary judgment dismissing the case, arguing that it did not have constructive notice of the conditions and that its custodian checked the lobby at 4 P.M. for any unsafe conditions and had no recollection of any "tracked-in" water on the floor. NYCHA further claims that no one had ever complained about such conditions in the past.

In denying the motion, the Supreme Court noted that it was undisputed that it had been raining for seven hours prior to the accident and five hours after the last inspection of the lobby at 4 P.M. Thus, no one employed by NYCHA mopped the floors for at least five hours before plaintiff slipped and fell.

The court held that plaintiff's statement that the floor was wet and slippery due to a constant rain was sufficient evidence to raise a triable issue of fact. Further, if a jury determines that NYCHA had sufficient notice of the condition, there was a triable issue of fact as to what precautions, if any, were taken to minimize the danger.

In such slip & fall accidents, the defendant has the burden to prove that it did not have sufficient constructive notice of the hazardous condition.

Belik v. NYCHA, NYLJ, 1/9/12