$500,000 Radiator Leak Fall Settlement in Brooklyn

A bedroom radiator was leaking water onto the floor. Our client got out of bed, stepped onto the wet surface, and slipped — falling in their own home because of a malfunctioning heating system the landlord had a duty to maintain. A fall that happened before they even left the bedroom.

Radiator Leak Causes Bedroom Fall in Brooklyn

Our client was living at 49 Legion Street in Brooklyn when they got out of bed and slipped on water that was running from the bedroom radiator onto the floor. The radiator — part of the building's heating system — was leaking, creating a wet surface on the bedroom floor that was invisible in the dim conditions of a just-waking moment. Bedroom floors are surfaces tenants walk on barefoot, in socks, and in conditions of reduced alertness. A wet bedroom floor is an extremely dangerous condition because the occupant has no reason to expect it and no visual cue to avoid it.

The fall caused injuries that required medical evaluation and an extended course of treatment. Slip-and-fall injuries from wet surfaces inside apartments often involve the hips, wrists, and head — the body parts that absorb the impact when a person falls backward or sideways on a slippery surface. Our client's injuries demanded sustained medical attention and rehabilitation.

Landlord's Duty to Maintain Heating Equipment

Building owners in Brooklyn are responsible for maintaining the heating systems in their rental units, including radiators. When a radiator leaks water onto the floor, it creates both a building maintenance failure and a premises liability hazard. The landlord has a duty to inspect, maintain, and repair heating equipment — and when a radiator begins leaking, the landlord must address the problem before the accumulating water creates a slip-and-fall danger for the tenant.

Our attorneys investigated the building's maintenance history, prior complaints about the radiator, and the landlord's response to reports of heating system problems. The evidence established that the leaking radiator had been a known or discoverable condition that the landlord failed to repair. The water on the bedroom floor was the direct result of that maintenance failure — and our client's fall was the foreseeable consequence of leaving a leaking radiator unrepaired in an occupied apartment.

"Our client got out of bed and slipped on a wet floor. The water was coming from the radiator — running right out onto the bedroom floor. You don't expect to step out of bed onto a wet surface in your own home. That's a radiator the landlord was supposed to maintain, and the leak created a fall hazard right next to the bed. The landlord had a duty to fix it, and the failure to do so put our client on the ground." — Jason Krakower, Attorney

$500,000 Settlement for a Brooklyn Radiator Leak Fall

This $500,000 settlement covers medical treatment, rehabilitation, lost wages, and the lasting physical limitations our client now manages from the bedroom fall. It holds the landlord at 49 Legion Street accountable for a leaking radiator that should have been repaired before it turned the bedroom floor into a slip hazard.

If you slipped on water from a leaking radiator or pipe in your apartment, our premises liability attorneys have experience with building maintenance negligence claims in Brooklyn and are ready to review your case.