New York Law Blog

Two landlords from the Bronx were found guilty of criminally negligent homicide for two firefighters that died after leaping from the window of a building that was burning out of control. Illegal partitions had been set up in the apartment building for subletting purposes which lead the firefighters to become disoriented while trying to escape the building. Jeffrey Lichtman talks about how the Wrongful Death laws play into the verdict on the case:

This case is another example of the dangerous practices landlords participate in all across our state, especially here in New York City.  The landlord and former landlord of this Bronx apartment building illegally subdivided apartments in order to achieve more rent.  This illegal partitioning creates a serious threat to the residents occupying the building as well as firefighters.  In this incident, the two firefighters had to jump from a window to escape the blaze.  The partitions left the firefighters disoriented forcing them to jump - ultimately to their deaths.  Firefighters risk their lives everyday to protect the lives of others - when illegal actions such as this cause unnecessary risks it is time we take action.  The verdict found both the landlord and former landlord guilty of criminally negligent homicide.  Though the verdict won’t bring back the lives of the two firemen it will serve those who caused the deaths significant punishment for their actions.  Once again, this case is an example of how our antiquated New York Wrongful Death law prevents full measure of damages.  The law does not allow compensation for the emotional loss and grief of loved ones left.  Albany must act.

Trolman, Glaser & Lichtman: Don’t settle for less!

This entry was posted on Friday, March 13th, 2009 at 12:02 pm and is filed under Accidents, Court System, Negligence. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.