Contact the personal injury lawyers of Proner & Proner in New York City today to review the facts of your case.
New York Office:
60 E. 42nd Street
Suite 1448
New York, New York 10165
Map & Directions
Connecticut Office:
14 Depot Place
Bethel, CT 06801
Map & Directions
Phone:
1-866-424-4496
Email:
Mitchell Proner successfully settled case during trial for $3.5 million.
Mitchell Proner was able to uncover key evidence while his client was still in the hospital. Mr. Proner was originally contacted by the brother-in-law of a woman who was left unconscious after falling down a flight of stairs. Mr. Proner went to the accident scene while the woman was still in the hospital. He found numerous code violations at the staircase. He immediately had an engineer examine and take photos of the stairway. Shortly thereafter the owners of the stairway repaired the stairs as part of a large renovation project. Mitchell Proner was able to show photos of the pre-accident conditions and have his expert testify at trial as to the numerous code violations that led to his client falling down the flight of stairs. During the trial the defendants agreed to pay Mr. Proner’s demand of $3.5 Million dollars.
The facts of the case are as follows:
While returning home from work as a production coordinator for an import export company on May 29, 2003, the 33-year-old plaintiff, May Tsoi, fell down the stairs and was knocked unconscious at a New York City subway station located in 40th Street and Broadway. Ms. Tsoi was taken to St. Vincent’s Hospital by ambulance. She regained consciousness at the hospital, but remained lethargic. She was diagnosed with a fractured skull and later had a seizure disorder.
Although the hospital records indicated that the plaintiff had amnesia with regard to the facts of the accident, subsequent to her discharge the plaintiff recalled that her heel had gotten caught in one of the pits in the cement and that the hand rail was loose. The plaintiff was able to identify in a photo the pit that caused her heel to get caught. The defect in the cement was approximately three inches long and ¼ of an inch deep.
Plaintiff was unable to return to the position she had previous to the accident earning $40,000 per year. Eight months later plaintiff returned to work at another position which paid approximately $30,000 annually. As a result of the accident, plaintiff had persistent complaints of seizure disorder, memory loss, headaches, decreased energy and loss of smell and taste. She sustained approximately $28,000 in medical expenses.
Plaintiff claimed that the defendant, the New York City Transit Authority, was negligent in allowing the subway stairway to have a defective surface and a handrail that was not properly fastened to the wall. During the trial the plaintiff’s engineer indicated that from his inspection of the stairway he can conclude that the defect in the cement was of the nature that would have developed over years of neglect and failure to repair.
The engineer also testified that it was obvious that the Transit Authority had made numerous unsuccessful attempts to secure the handrail and that it should have been replaced prior to the accident. The defendant claimed that the defects were deminimus and that there was no prior notice.
Result:
Settled on the eve of trial for $3,500,000.00
