Tumbling Trays
Q: I was working as a tractor-trailer driver for a transportation company, transporting bread products among a bakery’s facilities. The bakery’s employees would place the bread on interlocking plastic trays, stack the trays 15-high on wheeled dollies, and load them onto our trailers. One day, I picked up a trailer of bread. Upon arriving at my destination, I opened the trailer door, removed the bar holding the dollies in place, and began unloading. All of a sudden, from the rack I was pulling, several trays fell and struck me.
Trouble on the Train
Q: One morning I my way to work, I was sitting in the commuter train. Suddenly, there was a loud noise, and a ceiling panel swung open. It struck me on the head. The next thing I remember is being on my knees with people all around me yelling.
Tripping on the Sidewalk
Q: In New York City, in an area of the sidewalk near a fire hydrant, my foot became caught. I tripped and fell. This area is a rectangular depression with an irregular asphalt surface, the size of a sidewalk flag. In it, close to one edge, next to the curb, is this fire hydrant. In the past, the City had repaired the hydrant, and refilled the excavation with blacktop, but the sidewalk was never really smooth after that.
Tripping in a Tree Well
Q: One day in New York City, my right foot got caught in a raised brick. The brick was part of a curbside tree well. I lost my balance and fell.
Trip to the Store
Q: Twenty feet from the supermarket, I tripped in the shopping center’s parking lot. As I lay on the ground, I noticed many crevices in that area – although I cannot specifically say precisely which crevice caused me to fall.
Trim That Tree
Q: My vehicle was struck in an intersection. The other driver entered the intersection after failing to stop at a stop sign. He says the he could not see the stop sign. It was obscured by a tree that was located between the sidewalk and the curb. The tree had been planted by a home builder.
Trick or Tree
Q: Yesterday, my husband and I went to my friend’s tree farm to pick out a Christmas tree, same as always. A storm had pounded us the previous evening, and the fields were covered by snow. We boarded a wagon, got out and walked toward the trees. Some trees had been cut down, so they were missing. It turned out that some of the stumps were covered with snow. I tripped over one, hit another stump and fractured my elbow.
Trapped in the Cab
Q: At a construction project, I was assigned to operate a diesel-powered excavator to remove a massive bulkhead constructed of timber cribbing which was built into the banks of a creek that was an inlet of the East River. The bulkhead served to stabilize the shoreline and prevent erosion into the creek. The job required me to excavate the below-grade timber cribbing and hoist it to higher ground, above the tidal plane.
Trap for the Unwary
Q: My daughter’s gym class was being covered by a substitute – who had taken the class outside, to a football field that is surrounded by a track. The substitute gave the students the option of walking around the track or playing touch football.
Traffic Calming
Q: After dark, my son was riding his bicycle on a straight road running north to south, with two lanes in each direction, divided by a double yellow line. The western side was bordered by storefronts, and the eastern side by parkland.
Too Short a Ladder
Q: My neighbor owned a two-family home. He planned to rent-out both halves and hired me to put a horizontal wooden board, running all around, under the edge of the roof. The board would be used to hold the rain gutter. The owner supplied me with a ladder. I was concerned that it was too short, and told him so, but he said that the project needed to be completed before I left and proceeded to hold the ladder – while I climbed it and then stretched-out my arm to attempt the work. Sure enough, I fell.
Tiptoe Through the Tulips
Q: On the Fourth of July, I went to a fireworks display in the park. It was sponsored by the city. Toward the end, we began to cross the park towards our car. A large crowd of people had spilled over from the grassy areas onto the walkways. I had a difficult time navigating through the crowd, so I departed from the walkway and crossed what turned out to be a field of tulips. Although overhead light fixtures are located throughout the park, they were off. Suddenly, there was a drop from the field to the curb. I was unable to see it.
Thinking About Yesterday
Q: One evening, while thinking about yesterday and going down a stairway in a two-family house, I fell. I had rented the upstairs apartment for over 20 years. It was always too dark in that stairway. In addition, there was a loose top step and a loose screw on the landing. One or more of these conditions is why I fell. My friend says it’s my own fault: after all those years, I should have known better.
The Zip Line
Q: My friend had installed a zip line between two trees. The seat failed to brake, so I put my feet out in front of me until they hit the end tree – and I was thrown backwards, off the seat and onto a boulder on the ground.
The Year of the Roach
Q: I live in a rent-stabilized apartment. It has roaches and other problems at the refrigerator, the door lock, the fire-escape window and the stove. Five years ago, the situation was already so bad that the Division of Housing and Community Renewal ordered a rent reduction.
The Wrong Punch
Q: To satisfy the school district's physical education requirement, a female student could take the self-defense class, and then even compete in the school's self-defense tournament. I did. Unfortunately, while the class and tournament incorporated moves from various martial arts forms, the teacher had no certifications in any of these martial arts and very little martial arts training in general.
The Wrong Habit
Q: While walking on ice and snow, in my line-of-duty as a New York City police officer, I fell. I applied for accident disability retirement – based on constant pain, and loss of range of motion, in my right shoulder and neck, and pain radiating into my arm. Injuries like that prevent an officer from performing his duties. My application was granted.
The Withering Examination
Q: On a rainy night, while I was a passenger, my friend backed his car out of a driveway and into the path of another car.