Personal Injury

by

In Kats-Kagan v City of New York, the Appellate Division, Second Department held (in a May 7, 2014 decision) that an ice skater’s personal injury suit should not have been dismissed as against the City of New York. The facts: The plaintiff, an experienced ice skater, allegedly was injured while ice skating at a rink owned…

Read More Ice Skater Did Not Consent to Increased Risk by “Zigzagging” Employee; Case Against City Continues
Share This:
by

Even in cases involving horrific injuries or death, the plaintiff must still prove negligence – that is, a deviation from the relevant standard of care – in order to win. That’s the lesson of Clark v. Amboy Bus Co., decided by the Appellate Division, Second Department on May 21, 2014. In this tragic case of…

Read More Bus-Bicycle Accident Death Case Dismissed, Where Bus Driver Acted With Due Care
Share This:
by

In Contreras v. United Rentals (North Am.) Inc., a car accident case, the Supreme Court, Suffolk County, denied defendants’ motions for summary judgment dismissing plaintiffs’ complaint on the ground that they did not suffer a “serious injury” within the meaning of New York Insurance Law § 5102(d). Marcos Conteras was driving, and Nydia Contreras was…

Read More Evidence of “Serious Injury” Precludes Summary Judgment for Defendants in Tractor Trailer Accident Case
Share This:
by

In Halsey v New York City Transit Authority, 114 AD3d 726, the Second Department affirmed a judgment, entered on a jury verdict in plaintiff’s favor, in the principal amount of $3,000,000 for future pain and suffering. Plaintiff was injured when a bus on which she was riding struck a utility pole. Plaintiff’s injuries included a protruding…

Read More Court Affirms $3 Million Future Pain and Suffering Jury Award in Bus Accident Case
Share This:
by

In Prince v. Lovelace, decided March 4, 2014, the Appellate Division, First Department reversed a trial court’s decision that plaintiff did not suffer a “serious injury” under New York’s “No-Fault” Law, Insurance Law § 5102(d): Defendant failed to establish prima facie that plaintiff did not suffer a serious injury to his right knee as a…

Read More “Serious Injury” to Knee in Car Accident Case
Share This:
by

Jahn v. SH Entertainment, LLC is a slip-and-fall case decided by the First Department on May 8, 2014. The court affirmed the denial of defendant’s motion for summary judgment. Plaintiff was injured when he slipped and fell on water. Generally, “[a] defendant who moves for summary judgment in a slip-and-fall case has the initial burden of…

Read More Slip/Fall Case Continues; Employees May Have Left Out Bags of Ice
Share This:
by

Here is the complaint recently filed by Natasha Reyes against the City of New York. She alleges that while sledding in Riverside Park, “she was caused to sustain severe and serious injuries when her sled went through a hay barrier and into a park bench that was located immediately behind the barrier.” She claims, among other…

Read More Sledding Injury Lawsuit
Share This:
by

Under New York law, a plaintiff suing a municipality (including the City of New York) must first file what is called a “Notice of Claim.” The particulars of the Notice of Claim requirement are spelled out in General Municipal Law § 50-e. In Jimenez v. City of New York, decided May 15, 2014, the Appellate Division, First…

Read More Notice of Claim Sufficiently Alleged Playground Equipment’s Defective Design
Share This:
by

In Tria v. Regis High School (decided April 14, 2014), the court granted plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment on his Labor § 240(1) claim, but denied it with respect to plaintiff’s Labor Law § 241(6) claim. Plaintiff was injured when, while unloading a tractor trailer of press board panels and stacking them on an A frame dolly, the…

Read More Court Considers Weight and Force Generated By Falling Object in Granting Injured Worker Summary Judgment on Labor Law 240(1) Claim
Share This:
by

Fire escape ladders are a ubiquitous feature of New York City’s residential neighborhoods. They can also, as demonstrated by numerous court decisions, be a source of injury. One such decision is Taveras v Quisqueya II Housing Company, decided by Supreme Court, Queens County on May 8, 2014. The facts: On October 19, 2008, at 3:20…

Read More Locked-Out Tenant Injured on Fire Escape Ladder Loses Case
Share This: