Vargas v. Kang Sjuen, LLC

Syllabus

The defendant property owner appealed from the trial court's judgment for the plaintiff, a mail carrier, who sustained injuries as a result of a fall on a staircase at the defendant's property, which she alleged resulted from the defendant's negligence in failing to maintain the stair railings. The defendant claimed, inter alia, that the court improperly admitted evidence of subsequent remedial measures, specifically, photographs depicting the condition of the staircase after subsequent repairs. Held: The trial court abused its discretion in admitting the photographs depict- ing the condition of the staircase after the repairs had been made, as the admission of that evidence was made solely for the purpose of demonstrating the defendant's negligence, in violation of § 4-7 of the Connecticut Code of Evidence, and that improper admission of the photographs was harmful and likely affected the outcome of the trial; accordingly, a new trial was warranted. Argued March 10—officially released June 23, 2026