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Category: Premises Liability

Injured in an accident? We can help. From car accidents, workers’ comp claims, construction accidents to medical malpractice and police misconduct, we have you covered. Check out our blog for helpful tips and examples of claims, including many related to premises liability.

Daniella Levi Esq with firm's paralegal

Bite Worse than the Bark: Complex NYC Dog Bite Laws

When the bite is worse than the bark

Look down a New York City sidewalk these days and you’ll notice more dogs than ever being walked by owners or dog walkers. Man’s best friends are famous for the companionship they offer to their owners, but dogs by nature like to chew, and biting is an outgrowth of that. An unfortunate consequence of this popularity of dogs and their nature is that millions of people are bitten by dogs each year in the United States.

New York State law can be complex in regards to dog bites. While the state has a one-bite rule – this means that the owner will not be held responsible if he or she had no reason to think that the dog was prone to biting – it is quite clear that the property owner is frequently liable for covering all Veterinary and medical bills.

Owning dogs has challenges even for owners with the best of intentions of raising and owning a friendly dog.

Here are 7 tips to preventing your dog from injuring other people or pets.

  1. Stick a chew toy in their mouth if your dog starts to gently (or not so gently!) chew on you or that cherished antique table. Similarly, don’t stick your hands in or near their mouth as you play — this only signals that biting is playing.
  2. Wrestling often leads to biting. While playing is an important part of developing a relationship with your dog, games of fetch, tug-of-war and tag are great ways to be playful without initiating physical contact.
  3. Train your dog! It sounds simple, but it takes patience, time and effort. Teach your dog simple commands like “sit,” “stay,” “no,” “come,” “drop/let go” and “heel.” By doing this the dog learns behavior do’s and don’ts. This is particularly important for the socialization of city dogs, which come in contact with lots of people as well as other dogs.
  4. Pick good playmates. This may be difficult to do at the neighborhood dog run, but try and be selective about who your dog plays with so it doesn’t get bit or pick up any bad habits. Monitor your dog so it behaves as well. Ideally, playmates should have had their shots.
  5. Be mindful of how you discipline your dog. Just as with humans – aggressive behavior begets more aggressive behavior in animals. Utilize timeouts rather than hitting.
  6. Think like a dog. Yelp like a puppy or a dog that’s hurt if your dog starts nibbling on you. Dogs naturally understand this reaction and will often back off.
  7. Think like a dog pt. 2. Establish yourself as the alpha dog, or the one who is in charge. Do not worry – this pecking order is part of the dog pack social structure. A good way to do this is putting your dog through training exercises using the leash. Praise it when it does well. Immediately correct it if it doesn’t and then move on.

If none of these tips do the trick, please consult a qualified professional. Either a Certified Applied Animal Behavorialist (CAAB or ACAAB) or a board-certified veterinary behaviorist (Dip ACVB) can help. A skillful dog trainer can also be helpful.

Unfortunately, these additional steps may not guarantee success. Some dogs, like some New Yorkers, find it difficult to be friendly with strangers who come to their door or walk past their house. While most bites are not serious, if a dog bites you, your child or your pet, you probably have at least some legal recourse. And it’s possible to pursue additional damages if the attack is severe. Consult an attorney knowledgeable in the area of premises liability to see if you have a case.

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Shoe Manufacturer & Resort Escalator Injury Lawsuit

Shoe manufacturer and resort sued for escalator injury

Escalator safety is something that any business that has them installed must take seriously. There are several different things that can happen that can cause a person who is using an escalator to become injured. One of these is if something gets stuck in one of the escalator components. That is what happened to a 2-year-old boy who was visiting a Hilton hotel with his family.

The little boy was at a meeting for the American Association of Oral Maxillofacial Surgeons with his parents when they got onto the escalator in September 2014. The boy’s foot was sucked into the space that is between the sidewall and step. It became entangled so badly that it was trapped for nearly an hour before it was able to be freed.

While his foot was trapped, the escalator continued to move. The escalator finally stopped when a bystander was able to press the emergency stop button. Once he was freed, he spent two days at the hospital. The skin on his foot was torn off to the point that he needed emergency surgery. He later needed two more surgeries because of the injury and complications that resulted from the skin graft he needed.

The boy’s parents have sued the resort, as well as the manufacturer of Crocs, the type of shoe the boy was wearing at the time of the incident. They claim the shoes were improperly designed and accused the company of being negligent in the design.

This case is interesting since the boy’s choice of footwear is coming into the picture. It shows that there might be more than one defendant in personal injury cases. This is why investigating the incident is of utmost importance.

Source: Mohave Daily News, “Family sues Crocs, Waikiki resort,” Aug. 19, 2016

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Legal Advice: Inadequate Security Resulting in Injurious Incidents

Inadequate security can lead to injurious incident

Security is a crucial protection for people who are going to some events. When event coordinators are planning these events, they have a duty to make sure that the security is paramount. They have a duty to ensure that the people who attend the event, whether it is a massive sale or a concert, will remain safe. When proper security isn’t in place, people who attend the event are at risk of being injured.

We know that you had every faith that the security provided at the event where you were injured was going to be adequate. You didn’t expect the event organizer to skimp on the security budget. Sadly, some people don’t realize that always trying to hire the least expensive security firm can lead to serious issues.

No matter what type of injury you suffered, we can help you to seek compensation if those injuries were caused by an incident that can be attributed to having inadequate security. Some examples would be if you went to a huge sale at a store and were trampled because there wasn’t adequate control of people flowing through the door or if you were injured by an unruly crowd at an outdoor event.

If you were injured in an event such as those, you should seek out medical care. The medical records of your injury can go a long way in your claim for compensation. If you seek medical care right away, we can use that record to put a time stamp on your injuries. That would likely allow us to show that your injuries did occur at the event that didn’t have adequate security.

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Planning Event Security: Most Important Factors to Consider

What factors matter when planning security for events?

When people go to a special event, such as a concert or even a highly anticipated sale, they expect to remain safe. One way that this can happen is if the event organizers plan to have adequate security at the event. Failing to have adequate security can mean that attendees suffer injuries.

What factors should be considered when planning security?

Organizers have to plan for the worst case scenario to happen, especially with all of the recent attacks that have occurred in public places. This means that they can’t just go with the low-ball estimate for security at the event. Instead, they have to consider the different types of crimes that might occur during the event and plan for those. It is always better for them to be overprepared than underprepared when it comes to security concerns.

How long does it take to create a security plan?

There are three phases in creating a security plan. The first is the pre-event planning, which occurs 12 to 18 months before the date of the event. The second phase is the security at the event, which includes crowd control and other similar tasks. The third phase is the review of the security to determine if there were any areas that could be improved for the next event.

Event security has to be handled in very specific ways. The individuals who are working as security must work as a team. When anyone drops the ball, injuries can occur. Attendees who are injured because of lax security might opt to seek compensation for those injuries.

Source: Police Chief Magazine, “Planning and Managing Security for Major Special Events: Best Practices for Law Enforcement Administrators,” Karl Bickel and Ed Connors, accessed Aug. 10, 2016

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Elevator Safety: What Supports an Elevator Car from Falling?

What stops an elevator from plunging to the ground?

When get into an elevator, you are putting your trust in a system of components. As long as these components are working properly, you won’t have any problems. If a component fails, you might end up having an elevator accident.

What holds the elevator car up?

One of the biggest fears of some people who use elevators is what would happen if it would plunge to the ground. That isn’t likely because a system of cables, which are also called ropes, hold the car up. These cables are rated for the amount of weight they can hold. Generally, each cable has to hold more than the weight of the car, and each car has more than one cable. It is unlikely, but not impossible, for all of the cables holding up a car to fail.

Are there any other dangers besides that car plunging?

There are other accidents that can happen. Electronic components can fail, pulleys can stop working properly or the brakes can malfunction. As is the case with any electronic device, one failing component can lead to an issue. Sometimes, freak accidents like the one that occurred recently in upper Manhattan, can occur. In that case, the freight elevator malfunctioned and pinned the man to the ceiling, which resulted in his death.

Despite all of the safety precautions that elevators have, some accidents involving elevators do occur. These accidents can be deadly. If you are injured in an elevator accident or lose a loved one in one of these tragedies, you might decide that you want to seek compensation to help you reduce the monetary hit the accident causes.

Source: The Washington Post, “Elevator plunges are rare because brakes and cables provide fail-safe protections,” Brian Palmer, accessed Aug. 02, 2016

new york premises liability fall on stairways

Special Considerations for School Lawsuits: New York City Legal Firm

Lawsuits against schools might have special considerations

A slip-and-fall accident can produce very serious injuries, no matter where that accident occurs. When the accident occurs at a school, the question that many people will have is whether they can seek compensation or not. The answer to that question isn’t one that is as cut and dry as what you might think.

The big factor that determines how you would handle a slip-and-fall accident case is what type of school is involved. If a public school is involved, you will have special rules to follow. Lawsuits that are against government entities are subject to Tort Claims Acts, which require that you file a notice of claim. Once you do this, the government has the option to deny or accept the claim before you file the claim.

These government immunity laws will usually apply if you are injured in an accident on public school property, but they typically won’t apply if you are injured on a private school’s property. In the case of a private school, normal premises liability laws will likely apply.

In all cases, you should make sure that you take action quickly because of time limits. This is especially important if you are planning on filing a claim against a government entity because the time limits are shorter if you are planning on taking action against a government entity.

It is crucial that you fully understand the special laws that apply to your case if you or your child was injured at a school. This is the first step in determining if you will pursue the claim for compensation.

Source: FindLaw, “Slip and Fall at School: How Do You Sue?,” Daniel Taylor, Esq., accessed July 26, 2016

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