New York City, New York (NewYorkInjuryNews.com) — This is a case, which at first glance, one might think was something that happened out of the blue and maybe was an act of God. But like many things in life, upon closer observation it turned out not to be that extraordinary at all.
Ralph and Selma (not their real names) were driving down a tree-lined street in the suburbs of New York. Suddenly, an 80-foot oak tree fell on their vehicle killing Ralph and rendering Selma a quadriplegic. Your first reaction might be that this was an “Act of God”- not something that would be the basis for a court case.
However, in the same way that our municipalities are responsible for keeping our sidewalks, buildings, and public transportation vehicles safe, they are also responsible for keeping our parks, roadsides, and natural habitats safe as well.
So when the victims of this horrible tragedy came to the doors of a prominent trial law firm to investigate whether there was a case that could be brought, the prominent team of attorneys took a closer look.
The lawyers were able to demonstrate that the tree had been in a diseased condition for several years prior to falling and that timely inspections would have detected that it was likely to fall on the road. There was also evidence that the town knew that the roadside trees were diseased and therefore the local township had a duty to take preventative action such as inspections to remove the ones in danger of falling.
The aggressive New York injury / premises and municipal liability attorneys recovered two separate monetary compensations at this trial: the first for the wrongful death of Ralph and the second for the injuries to Selma, who now lives everyday of her life in a wheelchair and is in need of a full-time home attendant.
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Contributor: Vito Cannavo – Leading New York Personal Injury trial lawyer handling premises and municipal liability related litigation