In Jackson v. State of New York , Derrick Jackson sued the State of New York after he was injured at the Woodbourne Correctional Facility in Sullivan County. (Jackson, a prisoner, slipped and fell while getting out of the shower.)
At trial, Jackson testified that he regularly "observed water on the floor of the shower area," though he never reported this condition to anyone.
While no shower mats were provided to reduce slippage, Jackson was wearing rubber slippers when he was injured and a squeegee was available if he had wished to mop up the water. (Of course, he failed to do so.)
When the Sullivan County Court of Claims dismissed Jackson's lawsuit, he appealed to the Appellate Division, Third Department.
The AD3 found the "condition of the shower in which [Jackson] fell [didn't] constitute an unreasonably dangerous condition."
Believe it or not, you can expect water in a shower area and the presence of a "reasonable" amount of water couldn't support a negligence finding. (It also didn't help Jackson's case that the correctional facility didn't have notice of the condition.)
No action for that Jackson!
To download a copy of the Appellate Division's decision, please use this link: Jackson v. State of New York