A 4-year-old girl was injured after falling from a window in a Brooklyn apartment complex. According to a report in the New York Daily News, emergency personnel responded to Madison Street near Nostrand Avenue in Bedford-Stuyvesant the morning of June 3 and found the child on the concrete outside the building. Officials said she had fallen from a third-story window at her home on Madison Street. She was rushed to a local hospital with a broken femur and hip, but is expected to survive.
Police said the child was looking out of an open window when she fell out. They said the incident does not appear to be suspicious. Officials also said the window out of which the child fell had no window guard. Both the child’s parents were home when she fell, officials said. The investigation is still ongoing. We wish the little girl the very best for a speedy and complete recovery.
Falls from Window in New York City
According to the New York City Health Department, the city was the first in the United States to adopt a window guard policy in 1976. Before the law was passed, it was common for more than 100 falls, some fatal, to occur in any given year, according to the department. In the last 20 years, officials say, there have been fewer than 20 falls annually.
The most recent statistics available show that in 2020, seven children — 10 years old and younger — fell from windows. None of those incidents was fatal. Of these seven falls, six occurred in buildings with three or more units. Under city law, owners of these types of buildings are required to install approved window guards in any apartment where a child 10 years of age or younger is cared for or lives.
Officials say these falls may have been prevented if the mandated window guards had been properly installed. The remaining falls occurred in one- and two-family homes. While these private homes are not covered under city law, the falls may still have been prevented with window guards.
What the Law States
Homeowners in New York City have a responsibility to ensure that window guards are properly installed. Local authorities have the authority to issue violations for failure to install proper window guards. City law also requires owners to send an annual notice to tenants of multiple dwellings to determine if window guards are required. Property owners must provide and properly install approved guards on all windows including first floor bathrooms and windows leading onto a balcony or terrace in an apartment where a child 10 years of age or younger resides, and in each common area window, if any, in such buildings.
If tenants or building occupants want window guards for any reason, even if there are no children 10 years of age or younger, the tenant may request the window guards in writing and the landlord (building owner) must install them. For example, grandparents who have visiting children, parents who share custody or occupants who provide childcare services may wish to request window guards, even though they may not have a child permanently living with them.
Window guards approved by the Health Department must be properly installed according to specifications in all windows, including bathroom windows, except any window providing access to fire escapes. If a property owner or property manager is negligent (careless) in this regard, he or she can be held financially responsible for any accidents or injuries that occur due to the lack of a window guard.
Premises Liability Issues
There are several parties who may be held liable for falls from windows. Building owners who have a responsibility to install proper guards can be held liable for their failure to do so. Owners of apartments, condos, hotels and homes can be held accountable for accidents that occur on their premises. When such an accident occurs due to a defective window, screen or guard, the manufacturer, distributor or seller of a window, screen or guard can also be held accountable.
Injured victims in such cases can seek compensation for damages including, but not limited to, medical expenses, hospitalization, rehabilitation, permanent injuries, lost earnings, disabilities, past and future pain and suffering, etc. If you have lost a loved one in such an accident, you may also be able to pursue a wrongful death claim against the at-fault parties.
Compensation for Victims
If your child has suffered fall-related injuries due to someone else’s negligence (carelessness), the experienced New York personal injury attorneys with the Law Offices of Kenneth A. Wilhelm can help you better understand your legal rights and options, and also fight hard to recover just compensation for you. Our firm recovered $1,100,000 as a total payout for a child who fell from a window. The landlord (building owner) in that case had not installed a window guard as required under the law. Also, one of our clients obtained a verdict for $43,940,000 and another of our clients got a verdict for $23,500,000, both in medical malpractice cases.
Please contact us TOLL FREE 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 1-800-WORK-4-YOU (1-800-967-5496). WE CAN EVEN COME TO YOU. There is no attorneys’ fee unless we recover money for you. We can also help with personal injury, lead poisoning and medical malpractice cases including, brachial plexus palsy (Erb’s palsy) and cerebral palsy cases in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, or Florida. If you have been seriously injured in any of the 50 U.S. states, please call us and we will try to help you with your case.
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1-800-RADIO-LAW, 1-888-WYPADEK, OR 1-800-LAS-LEYES
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Source: https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/ny-brooklyn-child-hospitalized-after-fall-window-20230603-cmmwkgb5l5fnrhqg5upbyxbbhi-story.html