Brooklyn Slip and Fall Accident Lawyer
The Case
The Facts
On August 15, 2014, the injured party was walking on Seaview Avenue. As she reached the area between Remsen Avenue and 91st Street in Brooklyn, she fell on the sidewalk. After her fall, she hired a Brooklyn Slip and Fall Attorney. The attorney sued the defendants, City of New York, New York City Department of Transportation, New York City Department of Environmental Protection, and New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. The Appellate Court referred to this group collectively as the “City.”
After the case began, the parties started the discovery process. The discovery process is where the two sides exchange information. Each side asks the other questions under oath. Generally, they call this a deposition. Following the discovery process, the City moved for summary judgment. Summary Judgment is when one side asks the judge to dismiss the case, even before it gets to a jury.
How Can A Brooklyn Slip And Fall Lawyer Beat The City?
The City argued that it did not have written notice of the defect that caused the fall. In New York, your Brooklyn Slip And Fall Lawyer must prove that the City had written notice of what caused you to fall, before the accident occurred. If you cannot prove written notice, your case can be dismissed. In support of its case, the City submitted items from discovery including the depositions and two Big Apple maps. Big Apple maps are maps of the city when may indicate where known defects exist. However, one of those maps showed a crack which existed in the sidewalk since at least 2004.
At her deposition, the plaintiff told the defendant that she fell on a crack that was about 16 inches at the same location as noted in the map. The City received the map before the accident. While the City claimed that the map did not show the exact defect, the Brooklyn Slip And Fall Lawyer disagreed. The plaintiff argued that the symbols were indeed the defect which caused the accident, and the City’s assertion was wrong.
Should My Brooklyn Slip And Fall Lawyer Understand Appellate Courts?
The original court held for the City. This means that the injured victim’s case was initially dismissed. However, the Brooklyn Slip and Fall Lawyer appealed to the higher court. The court said that the administrative code does limit the City’s liability. Specifically, it limits it only to cases where there is prior written notice. To quote, “a notice is sufficient if it brought the particular condition at issue to the attention of the authorities.” This court said that the Big Apple map, at the very least, raised an issue of fact as to whether the city had notice of the claim. As a result, the case was able to move forward and the Brooklyn Slip and Fall Lawyer defeated the summary judgment motion.
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