Slip on the Elevated Platform

Q: On a patch of ice near the edge of a subway-station platform, I slipped and fell.  From the bench to which I was carried, about eight feet away, I readily observed this patch.  It was on the yellow dotted strip in front of the train doors.  The patch was small, irregularly shaped and dirty.

The subway platform was elevated, outdoors and only partly covered – by a slanted concrete canopy.  The canopy nearly reached, but did not cover, the spot of my fall.  Water was dripping off.  In general, the platform was a slushy mixture of water, ice and snow.

A: To buttress your account, your attorney may seek to gather climatological data, yielding outside evidence of the precipitation and temperatures.  He or she may also seek to depose the station cleaner.  “Q.  How often did you see this water?  A.  Lots of times.  Water always drips when it rains.  Q.  Had you applied snow melt?  A.  Minutes before.”

Knowledge of a recurring hazard is sufficient to establish notice of a specific instance.  Given the Authority’s awareness of a recurring condition, a jury can reasonably conclude that earlier snowfall and resultant dripping watery conditions, and subsequent freezing temperatures, had created an icy condition.

So long as the condition had existed for a long enough period of time for the Authority, during routine maintenance activities, to have discovered and remedied it, then you appear to have a good chance of prevailing.

By: Scott Baron,
Attorney at Law Advertorial

The law responds to changed conditions; exceptions and variations abound. Here, the information is general; always seek out competent counsel. This article shall not be construed as legal advice.

Copyright © 2014-2020 Scott Baron & Associates, P.C. All rights reserved. 159-49 Cross Bay Boulevard, Howard Beach, New York 11414 1750 Central Park Ave, Yonkers, NY 10710 718-738-9800, 914-337-9800, 1-866-927-4878