Articles Posted in Premise Liability

Recent strong winds have led to several near misses in the Boston-area after gusts caused limbs to snap and trees to be felled across sidewalks, patios, apartment porches — even crushing a couple cars parked street side, the Boston Channel reports.

Two women were transported to the hospital with non life-threatening injuries after a massive tree limb cracked and fell across a Kemp Street sidewalk. Property damage was more significant. Falling limbs crushed patio furniture and a deck structure and caused roof and other damage to a home and a couple cars.

Boston premises liability attorneys know that mother nature may have her own plans, but homeowners, property managers and landlords have an obligation to protect tenants and guests from hazards such as tree limbs. The scattering of tree-limb crack-offs around Boston is reminiscent of a rash of similar accidents in Central Park since 2009 that claimed the life of at least two, the New York Times reports.

In late July, 2009, a 33-year old man was seriously injured in Central Park when a rotting limb gave way and crushed him. In February, 2010, a second incident claimed the life of a 46-year-old man after a snow-covered branch fell on him. In June, a six-month-old infant was killed and her mother was critically injured by a falling limb from a honey locust tree at the Central Park Zoo. What caused the branch to snap is still unknown and various City agencies are still struggling to assign responsibility. Several personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits have also been filed.

The Union City family of the deceased infant is now planning to file a $50 million lawsuit against New York City, the Wildlife Conservation Society and the Central Park Conservancy, the Jersey Journal reports.

While pruning and regular care and maintenance can certainly diminish the likelihood of such accidents, sometimes branches break off, TIME reports. To reduce both risk and liability, New York City’s 5.2 million trees are maintained by the City Park Department. In Central Park, the Central Park Conservancy regularly prunes and inspects the 25,000 trees on their property.

For the most part, in large urban settings like Boston or New York City millions of trees and millions of people share the same living space with little incident. On occasion, however, failure to properly prune trees or otherwise ensure a property is free from hazard, can lead to serious or fatal injury.
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A spate of recent accidents has led our Boston personal injury lawyers to report on a series of fires and carbon monoxide poisoning incidents on our Boston Personal Injury Attorney blog. Again this weekend, a four-alarm fire at a 15-unit apartment complex in Lowell claimed the lives of two residents and displaced at least 20 more, the Boston Herald reports.

It is believed that a power strip is to blame for the fire which began around 4 a.m. on Sunday. The blaze has been deemed an accident by fire officials. While apartment fires occur about as frequently as they do in private homes, the New York City Fire Department notes there is a greater risk of fire, heat and smoke quickly spreading to reach other units in multi-family dwellings. According to the NYCFD, regardless as to whether you are a homeowner or apartment tenant, fire safety begins at home. They offer the following safety tips and precautions for apartment dwellers:

~ Most modern apartments are constructed with at least one internal “primary” entrance and exit to individual apartments and at least one internal or external “secondary” entrance and exit to the building. In both locations, the doors should be fireproof and self-closing. Tenants should be able to open both doors internally without keys via a thumb-turning bolt.

~ In addition to doorways, tenants should be aware of conditions of stairways, fire towers and fire escapes. Landlords should maintain fire sprinklers and fire extinguishers and tenants should know where to find them and how to use them.

~ Tenants should be able to find their way out in the darkness through multiple exits and be familiar with stairwell conditions. Doorways and stairwells should be clear of debris and other items (like bicycles or grills). Never use an elevator to exit a building that is on fire.

~ For protection and because it is the law, many windows are equipped with either a window security gate or a child safety window guard. While these items are meant for protection, in the event of a fire they can become a lethal hazard. For those with security gates, each family member should be able to operate the release devices. For families with child safety guards, do not install them on a window designated as a fire escape. Also, keeping all windows free of clutter – plants, wall-unit air conditioners, and decorative items – can be a life saver.
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Since just prior to the start of the school year, 28 complaints have been lodged with Bridgewater police regarding incidences involving Bridgewater State students, the Boson Globe reports. The largest of which was a Sept. 10 brawl that grew to include more than 150 students and their friends. At one incident, a gun was fired. A second melee found one student in the emergency room after being struck in the head with a glass bottle.

Meanwhile, a second, Sept. 28, Boston Globe article addresses separate stabbing incidents at two area colleges that left one young man hospitalized and another 18-year-old student dead. The article also reported on several other assaults, including a homicide, that have happened on or near campuses in Massachusetts, New Jersey and Wisconsin since late August.

Boston premises liability lawyers and Massachusetts negligent security attorneys know there is a fine line between providing acceptably open public access and student independence and creating and maintaining an appropriately safe and secure environment for student, staff, educators and visitors who consider college campuses a cross between a public space and a home-away-from-home. With that said, students, friends and families have a right to expect a safe learning and living environment and school administrators and campus security officials have an obligation to provide for and meet that expectation.

At Boston College, the hospitalized student required surgery to repair abdominal injury sustained during a stabbing, which reportedly occurred after the student informed four men attempting to enter a dormitory that they were not supposed to be on campus. A 29-year-old fellow Boston College student was kicked in the head after coming to assist the stabbing victim. At Regis College, the early morning parking lot stabbing death of one of their students has put campus security on high alert. Dormitories are now under 24-hour surveillance and all visitors are screened before entering the campus.

Meanwhile, across the state, school officials and campus security administrators are working to add additional safety protocols to campuses already steeped in expanded security teams, key-card only building access points, blankets of campus surveillance and checkpoint-clearance-only access for non-residents.
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Boston premises liability lawyers are closely monitoring a citywide crackdown on unsafe buildings in East Boston after a weekend Howard Street warehouse blaze in late August affirmed ongoing concerns long voiced by city official. Fortunately, the Boston Globe reported, none of the 170 responding firefighters nor innocent civilians were injured or killed by the blaze, a 9-alarm fire believed to be one of the biggest in Boston history. For many, the fire is eerily reminiscent of the Worchester warehouse fire that killed six firefighters in 1999.

In the wake of the fire, which is now known to have been started by illegal tenants shooting fireworks into a nearby warehouse, the Boston Herald reports that Mayor Thomas Menino created a taskforce dedicated to putting pressure on the owners of 147 East Boston buildings in question. The goal, to force landlords and property owners to bring their holdings up to code and correct a host of other safety concerns and violations. In addition, the team will investigate ways to streamline the process allowing the City to take over abandoned properties.

Following the Mayor’s announcement, a second Herald article reported that the landlord of the burned Roxbury warehouse – who, according to public records, owns a $620,000 home in New Hampshire – claims he’s broke. He insists he lacks the resources to address the growing list of violations and hazards associated with the property and has openly refused to fix code violations. He currently owes the City nearly $200,000 in back taxes.

Too often abandoned properties become a danger. To curious neighbor kids, they can be irresistible. The homeless may take up residence and create their own dangers. Passersby may be at risk because of broken sidewalks or falling debris. And the dangers can pose a risk to police or rescue personnel who must respond to them in the event of an emergency. Owners have an obligation to keep such properties free of hazards. When they don’t, and someone is seriously injured or killed, a property owner can and should be held responsible.
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