On November 19, 2009, Calvin Tarpley was driving his car and was pulled over to the curb by a police officer on 188th Street near Hillside Avenue in Queens. After he was given a traffic ticket, his stationary vehicle was struck at the front driver’s side by a city bus. Mr. Tarpley, a 43
Erroneous Preclusion of Evidence Requires Retrial of Damages Verdict in Spinal Injury Case
On November 23, 2011 Melissa Shillingford was stopped for a red light on Beach Avenue at the Cross Bronx Expressway intersection. As the light turned green, her 1997 Honda Accord vehicle was struck in the rear by a city bus.
Ms. Shillingford, then a 23
Spinal Injury Award Affirmed on Appeal
On November 9, 2009 Vincent Taurone was a front seat passenger in a minivan on the Saw Mill River Parkway in Chappaqua. After his vehicle stopped because of a deer carcass in the roadway, another car smashed into the rear of the minivan propelling it 35 feet forward.
Saw Mill River
Construction Worker’s Back Injury Pain and Suffering Award Affirmed on Appeal
On December 4, 2007, Greg Leszczynski was employed as part of a construction crew digging trenches and installing sewer lines in Grahamsville, New York. He was standing in a trench about nine feet deep where pipe was being laid when a frozen lump of stone, about 18 inches in diameter weighing about 60 pounds, came
Court Affirms Pain and Suffering Award Despite Pre-Existing Injury
On October 18, 2000, Olga Ortiz slipped on a concrete step on the top of the staircase leading to the Number 6 train at the 28th Street subway station at Lexington Avenue in Manhattan.
Ms. Ortiz, a nurse’s aide then 59 years old, fell down the entire staircase and landed at the bottom. A
Back Surgery Damages Verdict Remanded for New Trial – Defense Doctor Must be Allowed to Testify about Plaintiff’s Pre-Existing Condition
On March 31, 2005, Angelo Melo had been looking for the superintendent to ask about renting an apartment at the 40 unit building at 561 West 180th Street in the Bronx.
He took the elevator to the basement, stepped out onto a single-step platform and then fell to the ground when he stepped off
$2,000,000 Affirmed for Construction Worker’s Back Pain and Economic Damages from Roof Fall; Immigration Act Defense Fails
Back in 1999, when Aleksander Janda was hired by ABC Construction Corp. as an asbestos removal worker, he was a Polish immigrant in the U.S. on an expired tourist visa.
Under federal law, the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 ("IRCA"), it’s illegal to hire someone who’s not legally authorized to work in the U.S.
Appellate Court Reverses Jury’s $465,000 Pain and Suffering Veridct and Dismisses Complaint – No Evidence of Recent Medical Examination in Neck, Back and Shoulder Injury Car Accident Case
The defendants admitted that they caused the car accident on August 9, 2005 when Fred Nesci’s car was totaled after it was rear ended by their SUV.
Rear end collision damage:
Fred and his passenger (his wife Valerie) claimed serious injuries but the defense insisted on a damages trial arguing that the injuries were not
Young Teacher Wins $5,000,000 Pain and Suffering Verdict for Back Injury in Car Accident Lawsuit; Appellate Court Modifies to $800,000
Seven months pregnant with twins, Kathleen Conlon was slowing down in traffic on the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway on July 12, 1999 when her car was struck in the rear by a New York City express bus. Her car buckled and her back was injured but her twins were unharmed (and born healthy in due time).
Pedestrian Hit by New York City Bus Wins $1,400,000 Pain and Suffering Jury Verdict for Back Injuries; Appeals Court Orders New Trial Because Plaintiff Failed to Allege Preexisting Condition
Defendants routinely and successfully argue in back and neck injury cases that plaintiff’s injuries pre-existed an accident and no pain and suffering damages should be awarded (even if defendant is found to have caused the new accident). There’s merit to the argument but it’s not as simple as I’ve implied.
Under New York law, a