Tenant Slipped on Worn-Out Staircase

Tenant sued landlord for negligence after she slipped and fell on the building's staircase. The court ruled for tenant and found landlord 80 percent liable for the cost of her damages. Landlord appealed and lost. Tenant proved at the trial that landlord didn't take its usual rainy day precautions and didn't put down mats at the top and bottom of the staircase or post signs warning of wet floors. The staircase also had long-standing defects cited in building code violations. Tenant admitted she was hurrying down the stairs, but the staircase defect wasn't obvious, and tenant proved that she was holding the handrail and slipped on an area with worn-out threads. The court's finding that she was only 20 percent responsible was reasonable.

Santos v. State of New York: NYLJ, 1/14/02, p. 19, col. 1 (App. Div.1 Dept.; Nardelli, JP, Williams, Saxe, Wallach, Friedman, JJ)