Irene Gabo on the Morning Show at Davidzon Radio – November 1 2019

I live in Trump Towers and fell few months ago outside on the walkway but didn’t tell anyone. Since then I found out that I have a tear in the ankle. Am I too late?

You are not too late. You have 3 years to bring a lawsuit against a private landlord for a fall injury outside its premises. Of course, Trump Towers will claim that they have no notice of your fall, and you should have told them since you live there and where is the evidence that you fell and where you fell, but that does not prevent you from claiming against them for the injuries sustained. If this happened within a month or two, its even possible that they still have a video recording of the incident, as they have a video surveillance of the premises. In that case, they will have proof of you falling, and where you fell, even without you telling them anything.

I was in NJ, in Short Hills, and was struck in the parking lot of Short Hills mall by another car. Who will pay for my treatment? I have no coverage in NJ.

New Jersey automobile insurance law is different that New York automobile insurance law. If you have automobile insurance in New York, and was a pedestrian struck by a car in New Jersey, it will be your own insurance, in New York, paying for the medical bills and time out of work. If you have sufficient injuries, you will also make a claim against the policy of the driver in New Jersey for pain and suffering. However, if you don’t have automobile insurance, then a company called New Jersey Pliga will pay for your medical bills resulting from the accident in Short Hills. You have a time limit during which to file applications to either NY or NJ insurance company and just to let you know NJ Pliga has all its forms needed online, for you to download and send out.

We were walking on the boardwalk in September, by one of the restaurants, and I tripped over a bad board there. I told the restaurant I was hurt, but they said its not their responsibility. What do I do next?

If you tripped on the boardwalk itself outside, not inside of the restaurant, the responsibility for the maintenance of the Boardwalk remains with the City of New York and more particularly the Department of Parks. I am familiar with how bad some of the boards there are, and I am not only talking about loose boards. I have seen over the summer there ripped boards, nails that haven’t been driven all the way in, broken screws. The City’s employees do frequent walks on the Boardwalk to see where the defects are and not only write down where the defect is, but often take photos of the defect as well, and issue a report that the defect must be fixed. However, a lot of times the work is not completed, or done months after the defect is identified. This means that the City knew of the defect, and failed to address it and if this happens to be the defect where you fell, that would be identified in the City’s parks department reports, you may have a good case against the City of New York. Please remember you have 90 days to file an initial Notice of Claim against the City and a year and 90 days to start an action against them.

I was in a bar, and there was a loud drunken guest there. He was bothering everyone. My boyfriend told him to stop and he punched him in the nose, breaking it. He then ran away. What do we do?

Unless this is a frequent customer of the bar, and the bar would be willing to tell you where to find him, which I doubt, the question becomes whether this person was visibly intoxicated prior to the assault. Under New York law, a restaurant, bar, hotel or other establishment that serves alcohol to its patrons can potentially be held liable under New York’s Dram Shop Act for continuing to serve alcohol to a patron who is visibly intoxicated if that patron then injures or causes property damage to third parties as a result of his or her intoxication.

However, In New York, under this law, the Courts have been consistent that a commercial seller of alcohol, such as a restaurant or bar, cannot be held liable under the Dram Shop Act where the establishment would have no reasonable basis to know the customer was intoxicated. For example, if a patron appears by all measures to be in control of all of his or her faculties and then is subsequently pulled over for a DUI and tests positive for a highly elevated blood alcohol content level, there is no way an establishment would have any way to know the customer was intoxicated.

Therefore, whether a customer was visibly intoxicated is a factual question that depends on the particular scenario and facts present in each particular situation. It can include such things as a patron’s demeanor (i.e. was the patron slumped over the bar and slurring words when ordering drinks, or sitting upright with no signs of visible intoxication), whether their breath smelled of alcohol or eyes were bloodshot, and other signs they may have been drinking to excess.

My granddaughter fell in the park playing on the monkey bars and fractured her finger, but her parents don’t want to do anything? Can I sue as a grandmother?

If the child lives with her parents, then her parents are her natural guardians, and are responsible for the child, not the grandparents. Until the child turns 18, the parents not grandparents decide whether to file a lawsuit resulting from an injury to a child. A grandparent can petition to become a guardian, but unless there are signs of abuse by a parent or serious questions about parents ability to properly provide for and make decisions for the child I don’t see the Court granting the grandparent’s petition.

I was injured in a taxi but I was on the phone and didn’t see how it happened. Can I sue both involved cars?

Start with getting a police report to see what it says about the collision. Technically as a passenger, you can sue both cars, but if the taxi was rear ended by another car, and both driver’s agree to how the accident happened and that it was a fault of the second car, why would you? Also, the taxis have cameras both inside and outside, and your attorney can request that the footage be preserved, so if you are not sure who is at fault, the footage may help.