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Tag Archives: negligent maintenance

November 18, 2015 Case Success Stories
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$350,000 – Premises Liability – Slip & Fall Causes Ankle Fracture

When D. Kustov was 33 years old, she had a slip and fall accident while walking on private premises in Jamaica, New York. The accident caused her to break a bone in her ankle that required an open reduction internal fixation operation. The pain, swelling and difficulty walking remained and she was confined to bed for several weeks. Over that time, Ms. Kustov discussed her legal rights with the preeminent slip and fall injury lawyers of Morrison & Wagner, LLP in Manhattan. A grievance was filed against the property owner for negligent maintenance, along with a lawsuit for financial compensation. They asserted that the owner’s negligence created a dangerous condition that directly caused Kustov’s fall and injuries. After meticulous negotiation, the ankle injury victim won a settlement of $350,000 from the landlord of the property.

Read about more trip and fall cases here and here.

Photo by Wkc3 (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

November 13, 2015 Case Success Stories
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$ 1.45 Million Premises Liability Settlement – Man Electrocuted in Stairwell

Dennis Marruco was electrocuted while walking up the stairs of a New York financial institution. He sustained significant burns and a fracture of his left arm. In addition, the burn victim suffered a spinal injury with fractured vertebrae. Trauma surgeons performed an operation to repair his arm with plates and screws. Mr. Marruco explained that the real estate management company should have done their due diligence to prevent such an accident. He was left injured and knew that he needed help to recoup the money that he had lost due to the institution’s failure.

The 67-year-old accident victim approached the successful injury lawyers of Morrison & Wagner in Manhattan, New York with a simple phone call. They helped Marruco submit a premises liability lawsuit against the financial corporation and the realty management company. He demanded restitution for his accident injuries as well as his pain and suffering. The man’s diligent lawyer explained that negligent maintenance had been performed and therefore the defendants had not protected the public from an inevitable electrocution and injury. The defendants agreed to settle the lawsuit by paying the injured man $1,450,000. Here’s another premises liability case that was successfully handled by the winning attorneys of Morrison & Wagner, LLP.

Photo by Kevin.B (Own work) [GFDL or CC-BY-SA-3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0], via Wikimedia Commons

April 27, 2015 Case Success Stories
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$ 4.5 Million Settlement - Premises Liability - Hole in Kitchen Floor Not Repaired

New York — A 38-year-old hospital cashier was in the apartment that she rented in the Bronx. While bringing a large saucepan to the sink in the kitchen, she stepped in an oval-shaped hole in the floor, causing her to trip and fall. As she fell, the woman spilled the boiling hot contents of the pan on herself, resulting in burn injuries in 18% of her body. The victim sued for damages that she suffered due to the accident injuries after consulting with the injury lawyers at Morrison & Wagner. The woman alleged that the defendants were negligent in their maintenance of the apartment and that their negligence created a dangerous condition. Justice prevailed and they reached a $4,580,000 settlement for the trip and fall victim.

Illustrative Photo by Chris Sampson [License]

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Hole in kitchen floor not timely repaired, tenant alleged (VerdictSearch)

Settlement Amount: $4,580,000

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Court: Bronx Supreme, Bronx County, New York

Injury Type(s): arm; arm-scar and/or disfigurement; leg; leg-scar and/or disfigurement; leg
burns-third degree; other-scar and/or disfigurement; surgeries/treatment-skin graft

Case Type: Premises Liability – Apartment, Trip and Fall, Tenant’s Injury, Dangerous Condition, Negligent Repair and/or Maintenance

Date: January 4, 2007

Plaintiff Attorney(s):
Stuart Wagner; Morrison & Wagner; New York, NY
Eric H. Morrison; Morrison & Wagner; New York, NY

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Facts:

On May 1, 2001, the plaintiff, 38, a hospital’s cashier, was in the apartment that she rented from Natasha and Hardial Singh and David and Surojni Farnum, at East 175th Street, in the Bronx. While the woman was bringing a large saucepan to the sink in the kitchen, she stepped in an oval-shaped hole in the floor, causing her to trip and fall. As she fell, the plaintiff spilled the boiling hot contents of the pan on herself, resulting in burns of her 18% of her body.

The accident victim and her family thought that she was a lawful tenant of the Singhs and Farnums. However, Wells Fargo Home Mortgage Inc. had acquired ownership of the property at a foreclosure sale on April 12, 2001, as a result of the Singhs’ and Farnums’ delinquency on their mortgage payments. No one notified the woman of the foreclosure until she received a notice of eviction from Wells Fargo two days after her accident.

The plaintiff sued Norwest Mortgage Inc., which was the original mortgagor before being acquired by Wells Fargo; the court-appointed receiver who received the property during the foreclosure action; the Singhs; and the Farnums. The injury victim alleged that the defendants were negligent in their maintenance of the apartment and that their negligence created a dangerous condition.

Wells Fargo commenced a third-party action against Mortgage Contracting Services. It alleged that it hired Mortgage Contracting Services to perform monthly inspections of the property and that Mortgage Contracting Services was at least partially responsible.

Mortgage Contracting Services commenced a second third-party action against Quantum FACS Inc., Caretaker Properties Co. and Red Hawk Properties. Mortgage Contracting Services alleged that it hired the third-party defendants to perform interior repairs on the property and that they failed to do so.

Caretaker Properties failed to appear at trial, and a default judgment was entered. The court-appointed receiver was dismissed via pretrial summary judgment because it was determined that she had no management duties for the property. The matter continued against the remaining defendants.

The plaintiff claimed that the defendants failed to repair the hole in her floor. She contended that the defendants had known of the problems with the kitchen because the City of New York’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development had regularly cited the Singhs and Farnums for code violations for hazardous disrepair to the premises, including her kitchen. She also contended that when employees from Quantum FACS and Red Hawk Properties had come by to perform repairs, she informed an inspector of the problems with her kitchen. The woman claimed that the original owners were negligent because they continued to falsely represent themselves as the owner of record and accept her rental payments. She also claimed that Wells Fargo was negligent because it was the true property owner.

The injured woman’s counsel claimed that he discovered that Wells Fargo had been penalized by the Department of Housing and Urban Development for failing to complete the foreclosure action within the time requirements of federal law.

The Singhs and Farnums contended that Wells Fargo’s acquisition at foreclosure six weeks before the woman’s accident relieved them of any subsequent liability for open and obvious defects of the premises. They further claimed that Mr. Farnum had abandoned the property shortly after the plaintiff’s family moved in and that his wife moved out one month before the accident. They moved to be let out of the case on summary judgment.

Wells Fargo contended that, as an out-of-possession owner, it had neither actual nor constructive notice, especially since it had never physically entered the premises. It alleged that Mortgage Contracting Services was responsible for any problems with the property because Mortgage Contracting Services was hired to inspect it. It also denied that it ever had contact or communication with anyone still living at the property. Wells Fargo also moved to be let out on summary judgment.

Mortgage Contracting Services asserted that its contractual responsibility to Wells Fargo was only to inspect the property from the outside and not to actually go inside or effect repairs. It also contended that it had reported to Wells Fargo that the building was occupied, but in disrepair and had hired Quantum FACS and Red Hawk Properties to do repairs that might need to be done, making them contractually indemnified. It also moved to be let out on summary judgment.

The court denied all motions for summary judgment.

Injury:

The plaintiff sustained third-degree burns throughout her legs, arms and torso. She was hospitalized for one month and underwent five separate split-thickness graft surgeries. She was left with keloid scarring of about 18% of her body surface, including her wrist, arms, legs and stomach.

The injured woman claimed that she missed three months of work as a result of her injuries. She did not need any follow-up care for her injuries after returning to work, but she claimed that she needed to see a psychiatrist on an outpatient basis five times over the ensuing five years. She sought recovery for damages for her past and future pain and suffering.

The defendants did not dispute the plaintiff’s burn scars as a result of her accident.

Result:

The matter went to mediation before retired judge Milton Mollen at JAMS/ENDISPUTE, but it settled outside of mediation for $4.58 Million prior to trial. Of the total settlement, Wells Fargo agreed to contribute $4.5 Million, and the insurer of the Farnums and the Singhs agreed to contribute $80,000 from its $100,000 policy.

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Judge: Douglas E. McKeon

Editor’s Comment:
This report is based on information that was provided by plaintiffs’ and counsel of the Farnums, Mortgage Contracting Services, Quantum FACS, Red Hawk Properties, the Singhs and Wells Fargo. Counsel of Caretaker Properties, the court-appointed receiver and Norwest Mortgage was not asked to contribute.

March 30, 2015 News
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Hazardous condition blamed for building explosion in Manhattan

New York – Records illustrate that a building fire and explosion in the East Village area of New York City may have been due to illegal work on the gas line that left a dangerous gas leak. The building was flagged as having a possible natural gas leak in August 2014 after a meter reading worker smelled gas. The gas company report that they sent a team of employees to the scene and found several gas leaks and an overall dangerous situation after seeing that the original gas line had been illegally tapped into several times. The illegal work was possibly done by the owner of the building or with his knowledge. There was a restaurant in the building that was authorized to have a natural gas hook up to the company. However, the other residents apparently were illegally and dangerously connected to the same gas line according to accounts. The gas company then turned off service but allowed the owner of the building to correct the negligent maintenance work. The service to the building was restored after the gas company re-inspected the situation and found it to be safe. Now, public safety activists are questioning if the repair work was done properly and according to safety code. Some suspect that the illegal work may have been repeated but further inspection is necessary to determine fault. Nearby construction work was underway and Consolidated Edison inspectors were at the scene only approximately one hour earlier, reportedly having determined that the construction and renovation work failed their safety standards. It is unclear if that work was in any way related to the gas fire.

The fire has been blamed on a natural gas explosion according to New York City Fire Department (FDNY) officials. The original explosion demolished 3 buildings in total, including at least one restaurant and multiple apartments. Yesterday, the remains of two of the deadly accident victims were found at the scene. At least twenty-two people were injured in the blast, with many of them suffering burns, broken bones, lacerations as well as internal injuries. See this article for more details about the building accident.

Illustrative photo credit: cisc1970 [License]

March 13, 2015 News
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Breaking: McNeil Consumer Healthcare pleads guilty in contaminated medicine case

McNeil, a subsidiary of the pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson, is the medication company that makes several popular over-the-counter medications, including Tylenol, Motrin and Benadryl. The company has pled guilty in a federal court to charges or improper disclosure in a case where they were accused of manufacturing and selling dangerous medication that was tainted with metal particles. As part of the settlement, the medication manufacturer will pay $25 Million in fines. The lawsuit details show that the company was apparently aware of improper quality control that led to production and sale of dangerous product. Plaintiffs explain that the company refused to investigate and correct the problems, despite having been warned by consumers who had found obvious contaminants in bottles of their liquid medicines. Court records show that the contamination was later identified as metal and toxic chemicals that were not supposed to be there. It is believed that these dangerous chemicals made their way into the medications during the manufacturing process, possibly due to negligent maintenance. Consumer advocates say that the metals may be a toxic health hazard, especially for babies and young children, the population that these polluted medications were intended for. Some say that the ingestion of these dangerous chemicals can lead to developmental injuries, such as brain damage and learning disabilities.

The same pharmaceutical company has gone through a series of product recalls for other tainted medications over the past several years. A New York City law firm points out that this case appears to be another in a series of production and medication errors made by the company. It raises the questions of product liability and endangering the public health. Consumers who believe that their health may have been adversely affected by these dangerous medicines should see their doctor for evaluation. In addition, an ill or injured consumer has the right to speak to a top injury lawyer for assistance. You can see further details about the federal court case and guilty plea here.

Illustrative Photo Credit: Mike Mozart [License]

November 13, 2014 News
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Scaffold accident leaves 2 workers dangling from World Trade Center

New York – Rescue workers were sent racing to the scene of a work accident at the World Trade Center yesterday. Two window washers were suddenly left hanging hundreds of feet above the ground, along the outside of the office building, when the scaffold rig collapsed around them. The men reported feeling terrified as they struggled to stop themselves from falling onto the sidewalk below. They were taken to the hospital for evaluation in the emergency room after being rescued by firefighters. It appears that they did not suffer any physical injury but this will require additional time and follow up with doctors to determine conclusively. Trauma doctors do note that psychological injuries can also take time until they show themselves due to the nature of the incident. This latest work accident has industry experts concerned since this is not the first time that the same scaffold company was involved in a scaffold collapse. The previous incident occurred in 2007 when a worker was injured and another worker was killed. The injured worker suffered serious wounds and required extensive treatment. In that job accident, the same company had repaired and maintained the scaffold that broke away and sent the workers falling 47 stories from another Manhattan, NY building. Inspections of that rigging suggested that the dangerous equipment failure was due to a mistake in the crimping of the lines. Workplace safety specialists note that this error should have been picked up on by the employer prior to placing the workers into harm’s way. Activists fear that the same negligence may have been responsible for this week’s workplace accident. They note that work injuries are largely preventable if companies take their responsibility seriously and they maintain their equipment according to regulations. On the other hand, negligent maintenance can easily lead to catastrophic injury or wrongful death, as can be seen in these accidents. Read more about the investigation into the recent window washer accident and scaffold crash here.

Illustrative photo by Mike Peel (www.mikepeel.net). [CC-BY-SA-4.0], via Wikimedia Commons

June 25, 2014 News
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Construction accident injures bystander on Manhattan street

New York – A woman was injured in a construction accident on a busy sidewalk in Manhattan. According to video evidence close to the accident scene, a woman bystander was struck in the leg by a saw blade that had flown off of a piece of construction machinery. It is still unclear how the accident occurred, with some witnesses reporting that the equipment broke while the saw was cutting a section of the roadway. The victim suffered a laceration and leg injury and then fell during the accident. Workers and other bystanders reported that the entire incident took place so quickly that it left everyone in shock. Some activists believe that the accident possibly occurred due to negligence. They attribute the accident and injuries to a combination of negligent maintenance of the machines along with lack of appropriate closing of the sidewalk and street. Officials say that the street was being dug up in order to fix a broken water main. However, safety codes normally say that dangerous construction sites must be sectioned off from pedestrian and vehicle traffic, as necessary, in order to prevent injury or death. Leaving a hazardous condition open to innocent bystanders See more about the work site accident along with a video here.

Illustrative photo by Ben Franske (Own work) [GFDL or CC-BY-SA-3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0], via Wikimedia Commons

March 17, 2014 News
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Harlem, New York gas explosion collapses two buildings

New York – A massive explosion destroyed two buildings last week in the Harlem section of Manhattan. The accident killed eight people and left more than sixty injured victims in its wake, according to police. The cause of the explosion is under investigation but current evidence points towards a gas leak as the origin of the sudden blast. Current inspections by Con Edison, the Fire Department of New York and building department are focusing on possible sources of a gas leak and to determine if proper safety measures were taken to protect the public from danger. Most importantly, safety analysts are concerned about the possibility of repeat explosions from similar hazardous conditions. This explosion has raised concerns regarding the old age and safety of many of New York City’s gas pipes. Many of the pipes and equipment are well more than 100 years old and may have corroded or are otherwise leaking according to experts. Some have asserted that negligent maintenance is abound and will be responsible for many more injuries and deaths if something is not done soon to rectify the dangerous situation. They say that gas meters, connectors and main pipes were installed in the late 1800’s and require close watch, regular maintenance or prompt replacement. Records show that some sections of the gas main servicing the collapsed buildings were placed in 1887. Read more about this gas explosion and injury victim identification here.

Photo by Adnan Islam (Flickr: IMG_6862) [CC-BY-2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

January 06, 2014 News
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Winter airplane accident at John F Kennedy Airport

New York – The snow and ice from the recent winter storm are being blamed for an airplane accident yesterday. The plane slipped on ice and rain puddles when it was taxiing along the taxi roadway after having landed only minutes earlier. Reports show that the aircraft was exiting the runway and had just entered the taxiway. Passengers reported that the flight had been overall normal until the pilot got on the public address system to announce the accident. Some were worried about what had happened but officials stated that no injuries were reported by passengers or staff. Records for the flight note that there were over people on the plane at the time of the mishap, including 35 passengers. An investigation was opened into the plane accident to determine why it skidded. Questions remained as to what efforts were made to maintain the airport road such as deicing, plowing the snow and safety inspection. Experts say that these are standard operating procedures in dealing with snow, ice and rain storms, as part of routine safety maintenance. If proper measures were not taken to avoid danger for the airplanes and their passengers, it would have been expected that airport officials would have closed the affected parts of the airport pending further maintenance or repairs of any hazardous condition. Further investigation of the incident is pending to determine if negligent maintenance was at fault for causing the accident. Additionally, it would be necessary to determine how fast the plane was travelling at the time it slipped off the road. Speeds are often reduced during inclement weather in order to prevent accidents or injuries. Transportation safety specialists explain that the potential for serious injury or death in a crash like this warrants a full investigation to prevent another incident in the future. See this article for more about this airport accident.

Photo by U.S. Park Rescue Technician/Paramedic Sgt. Klebaner [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

November 25, 2013 News
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Partial building collapse injures children in Brooklyn

New York – Two pedestrians were injured when a building’s outer wall collapsed on them yesterday. The accident occurred when heavy winds made the brick wall buckle and fall onto the sidewalk below. The young victims were left with lacerations and other unspecified wounds. They were rescued for emergency teams from the police and fire departments and taken to the hospital for treatment. The New York City buildings department explained that the owner of the building did not properly maintain the store front and therefore issued a ticket to the owner. Building safety falls under the jurisdiction of that department but it was unclear if the wall had been inspected by them prior to it falling onto the children. Negligent maintenance or neglect of public safety can easily lead to injuries or death, as can be seen from other recent building collapse cases. Besides improper maintenance, a building collapse can occur during construction, as occurred in this case in Canarsie, Brooklyn.

Public safety activists in New York insist that weak building structures can be found throughout the area and this needs to be addressed. They say that the owners, mayor’s office, building department and fire department each have a responsibility to inspect and condemn any building or facade that presents a dangerous situation for innocent bystanders. More importantly, these hazards should be fixed before another accident with injuries occurs from another building or wall collapse. You can read about yet another construction accident that killed a worker here. If you or someone you know was injured due to someone’s negligence, you have the right to speak to an injury lawyer for advice.

Photo by Sanseiya (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons