CBS New York has reported a woman visiting upper Manhattan died in a strange accident Thursday night.
Francisca Fernandez, 67, was in upper Manhattan visiting her family when she tragically fell to her death in a freak accident. Fernandez was walking down a flight of stairs in her son’s apartment building when she slipped down the stairs and fell out of a window within the stairwell. She then plummeted five stories to her death.
Reports indicate the victim’s family is outraged by her death because the window did not have any form of protective bars. Fernandez’s daughter, Yesenia Nunez, described her mother’s fall as being due to its lack of bars or “brakes.” Nunez also claimed a picture was taken prior to her mother’s death that shows the lack of bars or other protective devices on the window. A safety restraint has since been installed.
Police returning to the scene a day later claimed that there should have been guards on the windows if anyone under 10 years of age was residing in the building. The officer also explained that the city’s Health Department is responsible for window guards. According to reports, the Department of Housing Preservation and Development claimed the building had no open housing code violations in relation to window guards.
Slip-and-Fall Accidents
Many personal injury cases are based on negligence. When it comes to slip-and-fall accidents, especially within an apartment or condo building, premises liability may be a factor in the case. This legal concept refers to an injury that was caused on someone’s property by a defective or unsafe condition. In order to prove a premises liability case, the victim must show that the property owner was negligent in creating a dangerous situation or allowing it to exist.
However, the fact that the victim was injured on someone else’s property does not automatically mean the owner of the property was negligent. The injured party must prove fault, which means he or she must show that the property owner knew or should have known that there was an unsafe condition on the premises and failed to act on this knowledge to remedy the situation.
With more 40 years of experience representing people in New York who have been injured in slip-and-fall accidents, the attorneys at the Fitzgerald Law Firm believe anyone injured in a slip-and-fall due deserves justice. If you or a loved one has suffered an injury due to a slip-and-fall accident caused by dangerous or unsafe conditions on someone else’s property, the owner of the property may be at fault. Contact the Fitzgerald Law Firm today to speak with a New York personal injury attorney today.