Erin Stalzer Wins Summary Judgment in a Sticky Case

Erin Stalzer won a summary judgment motion made on behalf of our nursing home client in a Nassau County venued action. This was a complicated case arising from the defendant’s purportedly negligent “mopping, waxing, cleaning or buffing” of the floor in a resident’s room which caused a fall on an allegedly dangerous and defective condition.  In the moving papers. Erin cited to the testimonial and documentary evidence with citation to applicable controlling caselaw to satisfy the defendant’s prima facie burden of establishing entitlement to dismissive relief with regard to liability.  Erin noted the strategic choices plaintiff made during discovery, such as foregoing a site inspection and/or deposing the housekeeping staff responsible for physically performing many of the tasks at issue.  The motion was also supplemented with an expert Affidavit of a podiatrist who was able to establish that the plaintiff’s fall was, more likely than not, attributable to the plaintiff’s own, extensive podiatric history and her noncompliance with podiatric care advised just prior to her fall.  The court carefully considered the motion and ultimately agreed that the plaintiff failed to establish with admissible evidence the existence of a dangerous and defective condition.  The plaintiff’s failure to specifically identify the cause of her fall without employing speculation was correctly deemed to be fatal to the plaintiff’s claim.  Please join us in congratulating Erin on her result and success on behalf of our client.