Landlord Not Liable for Tenant's Fall from Wheelchair

Facts: Tenant was injured when the hydraulic lift used to move her from her wheelchair onto her bed snagged on the carpet and caused her to fall. Tenant sued landlord and carpet installer for negligence. Landlord in turn sued the home care agency attending to tenant. Landlord claimed it wasn't responsible for tenant's injuries and asked the court to dismiss the case without a trial. The court dismissed the case against the home care agency only and found that there were questions of fact as to whether landlord was responsible. Landlord appealed. Court: Landlord wins. The fact that landlord had required tenant to install the carpet in her apartment didn't make landlord responsible for any possible defect in the carpet that may have caused tenant's injury. Although tenant's lease required installation of the carpet to prevent noise, tenant chose the carpet and installers without any notice to, or input from, landlord. Landlord wasn't responsible for tenant's injuries.

Flam v. Etgoel Co.: 687 NYS2d 406 (1999) (App. Div. 2 Dept.; Miller, JP, Santucci, Friedmann, Florio, JJ)