Court Rules Owner Has Duty to Regulate Hot Water Temperature

A Second Department Supreme Court judge recently declined to dismiss a case brought by the family of a toddler who was scalded during a kitchen sink bath. The toddler received first- and second-degree burns after he turned on a lever controlling the kitchen sink water while his mother was busy mopping the floor of water from the bath. In declining to dismiss the case, the judge effectively ruled that a building owner cannot disclaim any duty to regulate hot water to tenants [Velez v. Geomar Realty, July 2009].