PETITIONER, A COURT OFFICER, SLIPPED AND FELL ON A WET FLOOR IN THE COURTHOUSE; THE FALL WAS AN ACCIDENT WITHIN THE MEANING OF THE RETIREMENT AND SOCIAL SECURITY LAW (THIRD DEPT).

The Third Department, reversing the Comptroller, determined petitioner court officer suffered a compensable accident when slipped on a wet floor in the courthouse and may therefore be entitled to accidental disability retirement benefits:

Petitioner testified that she was on duty and returning to the security office at the end of her shift when she “slipped on the wet floor” in the courthouse where she was assigned. Having fallen to the ground on her back, she “felt the water on the floor” and observed that the whole area appeared to be wet as though recently mopped. She stated that she did not observe that the floor — which was light in color — was wet before her fall and, further, there had been no signs advising of the hazard. She had never seen anyone mopping in the courthouse and was wearing nonslip shoes as part of her uniform at the time of the fall.

Like the incidents deemed accidental in Matter of Knight v McGuire (62 NY2d 563 [1984] [accident where the petitioner slipped on wet pavement getting into a patrol car]) and Matter of Gasparino v Bratton (92 NY2d 836, 838-839 [1998] [accident where the petitioner slipped in water on a bathroom floor]), the precipitating event here was not a risk of the work performed by petitioner. Her description of the incident also demonstrates that her fall was sudden and unexpected … . Matter of Como v New York State Comptroller, 2022 NY Slip Op 01223, Third Dept 2-24-22