City of New Brunswick, Premises Owner Named in Injury Lawsuit
The city of New Brunswick and its outdated inspection laws are the focus of a new premises liability lawsuit filed by the family of a Monmouth County college student, who suffered serious injuries in a fall accident at a friend’s off-campus house in 2008.
Howell-resident Frank Ozello Jr. was standing on a second floor landing, leaning against the railing when the railing broke under his weight, and sent him crashing to the floor. He suffered critical injuries, and had to be placed in a medically induced coma. He suffered brain trauma, broke 6 of his vertebrae and suffered three skull fractures. Ozello spent 6 weeks at a brain trauma center. He has been recovering physically, but still shows signs of brain damage.
The house where the accident occurred had several violations, including damaged handrails, broken windows and a weak and unstable door stairway. After the accident, inspectors found that the property owner had installed a spiral staircase by removing ceiling joists. This probably weakened the structural integrity of the home further. The owner of the house Monroe-resident Jason Cyrus, is also named in the liability lawsuit. Cyrus, who once lived at the property, moved out and converted the home into a rental property without informing the city. By doing so, he was able to escape mandatory property inspections every three years.
After Ozello’s scary fall, the city found approximately two dozen violations on the same property. Among these were illegal conversions of a basement and a attic into extra bedrooms, and absence of smoke detectors and fire alarms. The city has moved fast to declare the house uninhabitable.
It shouldn’t be this easy for a property owner to rent out a derelict, uninhabitable property to unsuspecting tenants, who may have no idea of how unsafe the property is nor of the property owner’s duty to maintain safe premises.
Scott Grossman is a New Jersey premises injury lawyer representing victims who have been injured in slip and fall accidents, amusement park accidents, and dog bites, in the state of New Jersey.
