BACKING INTO A PARKED CAR IS PRIMA FACIE EVIDENCE OF NEGLIGENCE, PLAINTIFF, WHO WAS INJURED WHEN THE PARKED CAR WAS PUSHED INTO HIM, ENTITLED TO SUMMARY JUDGMENT (FIRST DEPT).
The First Department, in a case remitted after reversal by the Ct. of Appeals, determined plaintiff was entitled to summary judgment in this vehicle accident case. Plaintiff was injured when a sanitation truck, which was backing up, slid on ice and hit a parked car. which in turn struck plaintiff. Initially the plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment was denied because the plaintiff did not demonstrate freedom from comparative fault. The Ct. of Appeals reversed, holding that plaintiffs do not need to demonstrate freedom from comparative fault to be entitled to summary judgment. On remittal the First Department held that striking a parked vehicle is prima facie evidence of negligence and plaintiff’s summary judgment motion was granted:
It was Ramos’s [the driver] and Carter’s [the employee guiding the driver] responsibility to take into account weather and road conditions and to tailor their actions accordingly to avoid collisions … . The record demonstrates that the truck hit the parked car either because Ramos reacted to an abrupt hand signal from Carter and hit the brakes while he was driving on ice, causing a skid he could not abate, or because Ramos failed to adequately respond to Carter’s directives. Whether there were chains on the tires or not, defendant’s employees were obligated to maintain control of the truck and to avoid collisions with parked cars while backing up, and were negligent in failing to do so … . Rodriguez v City of New York, 2018 NY Slip Op 03634, First Dept 5-22-18
NEGLIGENCE (BACKING INTO A PARKED CAR IS PRIMA FACIE EVIDENCE OF NEGLIGENCE, PLAINTIFF, WHO WAS INJURED WHEN THE PARKED CAR WAS PUSHED INTO HIM, ENTITLED TO SUMMARY JUDGMENT (FIRST DEPT))/TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS (BACKING INTO A PARKED CAR IS PRIMA FACIE EVIDENCE OF NEGLIGENCE, PLAINTIFF, WHO WAS INJURED WHEN THE PARKED CAR WAS PUSHED INTO HIM, ENTITLED TO SUMMARY JUDGMENT (FIRST DEPT))/PARKED CARS (NEGLIGENCE, BACKING INTO A PARKED CAR IS PRIMA FACIE EVIDENCE OF NEGLIGENCE, PLAINTIFF, WHO WAS INJURED WHEN THE PARKED CAR WAS PUSHED INTO HIM, ENTITLED TO SUMMARY JUDGMENT (FIRST DEPT))