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$275,000 result- cited in VerdictSearch.com
Premises Liability - Negligent Repair and/or Maintenance –
Dangerous Condition – Icy construction site a danger, pedestrian
claimed
SETTLEMENT: $275,000
CASE: Stefan Carpio v. West 34th Street LLC; M.D., Carlisle
Construction Corp. & M.D.; Carlisle Realty Corp. Century-Maxim;
Construction Corp. and Atlantic.-Heydt, Corp; No. 27799/01
COURT: Bronx Supreme. JUDGE: Howard P. Silver. DATE: 6/24/2005
Plaintiff Attorney(s): Alan M. Greenberg, Law Offices of Alan M.
Greenberg P.C., New York, NY
Defense Attorney(s): Christopher D. Clarke, Leahey & Johnson
P.C., New York, NY
FACTS & ALLEGATIONS: At 12:10 a.m. on March 8, 2001,
plaintiff Stefan Carpio, 39,a computer programmer, slipped on a
pedestrian walkway alongside a construction site at 312 W 34th
St. in Manhattan. He was returning from work at Lockheed— Martin
Corp. on West 34th Street when he slipped and felt on a slushy,
icy plywood portion of walkway. He claimed that he fell, landed
on his back, struck his head and twisted his right leg beneath
him.
Carpio sued the property owner. West 34th Street LLC; the
construction managers, Carlisle Construction Corp. and M.D.
Carlisle Realty Corp.; the builder of the walkway, Atlantic
Heydt Corp.; and the pourer of the underlying concrete walkway,
Century-Maxim Construction Corp He alleged that the defendants
violated the New York City Building Code and negligently
maintained the area.
Carpio claimed that he slipped on a slushy, icy portion of the
walkway. He contended that the area was dark and poorly lit. He
argued that the plywood section of the walkway was sloped and
constituted a “ramp’ under the Building Code and, therefore,
that it required a non-slip surface such as rubberized matting
or foot cleats.
Carpio’s expert engineer would have testified that the
defendants were responsible for securing any ramps with a
non-slip surface.
Carpio contended that the slush was on the ground for at least
two days, based on weather records and that West 34th Street
LLC, Carlisle Construction and M.D. Carlisle Realty should have
cleaned the area. He claimed that the defendants allowed icy
plywood to be a recurring condition based on witnesses prepared
to testify regarding prior falls. He contended that one previous
slip-and-fall accident on the concrete portion of the walkway
was the subject of a prior lawsuit against West 34th Street LLC.
The defendants contended that the section was not a ramp and
that, therefore, no such Building Code was applicable. They also
claimed that the area was inspected daily and found to he clear,
dry and safe.
Defense counsel’s motion for pretrial summary judgment was
denied.
INJURIES/DAMAGES: arthroscopy; chondroplasty; epidural
injections; herniated disc at L2-3; spasm, lumbar; torn
anterior-cruciate ligament; torn meniscus
Carpio took himself to the emergency room at NYU Hospital, in
Manhattan, where he was treated and released. He missed seven
days of work and then began to experience right-knee pain.
Several days later, he underwent MRIs that he claimed revealed a
small disc herniation at L2-3 and bilateral torn menisci.
In May 2000, Carpio underwent a right arthroscopic chondroplasty
and meniscal repair. Between May and December 2000, he received
21 lumbar epidural steroid injections. He claimed that he was
treated regularly by a physical therapist for 26 months and
intermittently thereafter.
Carpio claimed that, in April 2000, while ironing a shirt on a
bed, he experienced a lumbar spasm and fell to the floor with
his left leg beneath him. He went to the emergency room at NYU
Hospital and was treated and released. Several days later, his
left knee began bothering him. He claimed that an MRI revealed a
left torn anterior cruciate ligament, for which he underwent
arthroscopic repair in April 2003. He then missed six weeks of
work but was still being paid.
The plaintiffs expert orthopedic surgeon would have testified
that all of Carpio’s back and knee injuries were causally
related to the fall.
Carpio contended that he was permanently injured and could no
longer participate in activities such as playing sports with his
son.
Carpio sought recovery of $35,000 in past medical expense and
unspecified damages for his past and future pain and suffering.
The defendants disputed that Catpio’s alleged injuries were
causally related to the fall. They argued that Carpio was
morbidly obese at 5-feet, l0-inches tall and 275 pounds and that
his back and knee injuries were preexisting. They contended that
Carpio’s fall while ironing was caused by his preexisting back
injury and that he was negligent for ironing on a bed.
RESULT: On the day of jury selection, the patties agreed to a
$275,000 settlement. The money was allocated to Carpio’s past
and future pain and suffering.
INSURER(S): AIG Construction Claims Service for all defendants
PLAINTIFF EXPERT(S): Nicholas Bellizzi, PE., engineering,
Holmdel, NJ; Jeffrey Kaplan, M.D orthopedic surgery, New York,
NY
DEFENSE EXPERT(S): Joseph Cannizzo, P.E., engineering,
Morristown, NJ; Edward T. Haberman, M.D., orthopedics,
Chappaqua, NY; William B. Head Jr., M.D., neuropsychiatry,
Staten Island, NY; William Marietta, Ph.D., safety, West Islip,
NY
— Joanna Bonfigli
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