A 49 year-old man employed by the NYC Housing Authority and earning $46,000 per annum, slipped on ice while stepping from a curb. This occurred two days after a 26 inch blizzard. Our client fractured both bones in his lower leg. After surgery to repair the fractures with a plate and screws two screws were eventually removed and after three and a half months, our client returned to work on a full-time basis. Suit was brought against the City of New York for failure to maintain the crosswalk and curb in a reasonably safe condition and the case was settled for $100,000.

The plaintiff, a 76 year-old retired attorney was walking beneath a sidewalk bridge on East 81st Street where he turned to cross the street. As he stepped towards the curb, his foot caught on a nail that slightly protruded from the side of the wooden block, (known as mudsill), that formed the footing to the upright post of the sidewalk bridge. As a result, he tripped, fell and fractured his patella (kneecap). Surgery was performed to remove the bottom piece of the patella and to align the rest of it; then, he underwent physical therapy for about three months. Although the condition which plaintiff complained about was admittedly small, we argued that its location, lined up with a pedestrian crosswalk, made it particularly dangerous. Suit was brought against the building owner, its general contractor, and its sub-contractor for the sidewalk bridge, and it eventually proceeded to mediation. Documents and witnesses proved that this condition had existed for a long period of time but had gone unrepaired. Also, an inspection report from the general contractor’s foreman showed that the bridge had been inspected that day but that the condition was not noted on the inspection sheet. At the mediation the case settled for $150,000.

The plaintiff, a 72 year-old legal secretary slipped off of a broken sewer grate cover at night fracturing the elbow to her non-dominant arm and requiring surgery. Documents and witnesses proved that this condition had existed for a long period of time but had gone unrepaired. Suit was brought in Supreme Court, Queens County against The City of New York and the abutting landowner and before jury selection it was settled for $150,000.

After a small snowfall, a 68 year-old man was attempting to get from a public sidewalk into the roadway so that he could cross mid-block. Instead of walking along the shoveled path in the middle of the sidewalk in order to reach the crosswalk, he left the shoveled path and walked onto the unshoveled part of the sidewalk that abutted the curb. He slipped while trying to reach the roadway, fracturing his ankle and requiring surgery. The case was settled before trial for $235,000.

Our client was a 60 year-old nurse who was shopping at a high-end Manhattan boutique. She descended from the second floor to the main floor and, in the process, found herself unknowingly on a 14 inch-high platform where the mannequins were displayed. In attempting to step down from the platform, she fell hard onto her foot fracturing her heel bone (calcaneus). Her injury was treated via surgery with a plate and pin. She returned to full-time nursing about four months later. Suit was brought against the store and its architect. Our expert engineer and architect claimed that the defendants had violated various provisions of the NYS Building Code with respect to steps, signs and exits. The parties agreed to proceed to mediation where the case settled for $590,000.