I was at my daughter’s basketball game. After the game, I was walking down the bleacher, I slipped and fell. I injured my arm. Can I sue the school for my injuries?

Whether you can sue will depend on several factors. In an earlier post, I explained the issues with cases involving a slip and fall. One of those issues was notice. Notice means that the school had notice of the condition and a reasonable opportunity to remedy the condition.

In your question, you did not indicate what caused you to fall. If your accident was caused by a spill which occurred during the course of your daughter’s game, it would be difficult to prove a case. In order to prove negligence, you must show that the school had a reasonable opportunity to clean up the area where you had your accident. Since your accident happened after your daughter’s game, the school can argue that your accident occurred because somebody spilled something during the game.

If your accident happened before the game started, then you would have a much stronger case. The bleacher would be empty at the beginning of the game. It would also be the best time to check the bleacher before any people are seated. It would also be easiest time to clean the bleacher while no one is sitting in the stands.

Building Code Violation

There may be a second theory of recovery. Your question never stated if there were any handrails in the bleacher to help you catch yourself before you fell but after you slipped. If there were no handrail, this could be violation of Administrative Code § 27-531 (a) (8) (d). This part of the building code requires bleachers to have handrails.

If there were no handrails and since the school did not follow the building code, a jury could find the school was negligent. Elliott v New York, 95 NY2d 730, 724 NYS2d 397 (2001).

But you would need to further explain what caused you to slip and fall as well as a description of the bleacher.

By James Santner, Esq.

If you have questions about a similar situation, feel free to contact us. Consultations are free and there is no fee unless we win.