Brooklyn Slip and Fall Case Settles on the Eve of Trial February 29, 2012
Posted by Carol L. Schlitt in Slip and Fall, Stairway Accidents.Tags: Brooklyn slip and fall, New York Personal Injury Lawyer, Slip and Fall, Stairway Accident
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On a warm September morning, a Brooklyn mother went to work as a home health aide. At one point, she left her client’s apartment to go to the pharmacy. She slipped on a gooey substance and injured her knee. She retained a Bronx law firm – Krieger and Wilansky – to represent her. They brought us in to try the case. On the eve of trial, the client asked us to settle the case and we did much to her pleasure.
A Slip and Fall in a Brooklyn Stairway
The woman in this case lived in Starrett City and worked with an elderly client who lived in a nearby building. On the morning of the incident, the woman was working as a home health aide when she needed to leave to take her client’s prescription to the pharmacy. She pressed the elevator button but, after several minutes, the elevator did not arrive. With the elevators not working, the woman began walking the flights down to the lobby.
The woman walked from the 11th to the 10th floor landing without incident. She wasn’t carrying anything in her hands – her purse was over her shoulder. She held onto the handrail. When she attempted to take the first step on the next flight of stairs, her foot slipped on a “gooey” substance and she fell down the entire flight to the 9th floor landing on her back and buttocks. Her left knee twisted during the fall.
She got up and proceeded down to the lobby. When she got to the lobby, she told the building personnel that she had fallen on the stairs. She was told that another woman had also fallen and they urged her to be evaluated by ambulance personnel. My client waited for the ambulance and was treated by the attendants but she refused hospital treatment. She knew that her elderly client was depending on her so she went to the pharmacy and then returned to her client’s apartment.
The Injury in this Slip and Fall Case
When the pain in her left knee did not subside, she went to her medical doctor. He prescribed pain medication, anti-inflammatories and physical therapy. When she still had complaints of left knee pain, her doctor referred the woman for an MRI of her left knee. The MRI revealed a tear of the posterior horn of the medial meniscus. An orthopedic surgeon reviewed the MRI and then performed arthroscopic surgery at Brookdale Hospital.
Why Settle a Case on the Eve of Trial?
In all cases, we strive to move the case as quickly as possible and to maximize the compensation that a client receives. Therefore, I pursue two paths: seeking a settlement and preparing for trial. The more aggressive and thorough we are in our trial preparation, the more leverage we have in settlement talks.
In our direct cases, we prefer to see if we can settle cases before filing suit. If not, we file suit and begin the move towards trial. Cases can settle at any time in the process. Some defendants wait until the eve of trial to even enter into settlement talks and that’s what happened in this case.
At heart, I am a trial attorney. I love trials. I find that when people see me arrive for a trial, fully prepped and ready to go, that they are more likely to settle. In this case, the defendant suddenly expressed an interest in settling. The client also decided that she preferred to avoid the stress of a trial – she strongly preferred not to testify – so I negotiated the best settlement possible for her.
I hope you found this information helpful. If you or a loved one has been hurt in a slip and fall or a stairway accident, you may want to consult a New York personal injury attorney experienced with slip and fall cases. I would be glad to answer your questions and assist you. The consultation is always free. You can call me at 1-800-660-1466 or email me. You can also visit my website or read more on my blog, New York Law Thoughts.
Carol L. Schlitt
New York Personal Injury Attorney
www.SchlittLaw.com
http://nylawthoughts.com
1-800-660-1466
Carol@SchlittLaw.com
This material is intended for informational uses only. It is not meant as legal advice. To receive legal advice, you should consult an attorney. Remember, past results do not guarantee similar outcomes in the future.
All content of this site:
© copyright 2010-2012 by Carol L. Schlitt
The material presented in this blog may not be reproduced or appropriated in any way without the explicit permission of the author.
Making Mediation Work: A $350,000 Settlement in the Mediation of a Bronx Trip and Fall Case February 3, 2012
Posted by Carol L. Schlitt in Slip and Fall, Trip and Fall.Tags: Bronx slip and fall, New York Personal Injury Lawyer, personal injury mediation, personal injury settlement, slip and fall settlement, Stairway Accident
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In working to resolve cases in my client’s favor, I will sometimes engage in a formal mediation process. In this particular case, mediation led to a $350,000 settlement. Let me share some information about the case and the mediation process.
The Facts of a this Bronx Stairway Injury Case
A Bronx Home Health Aide arose to go to work one morning. As she walked down the stairs in her apartment building, she slipped, tripped and fell on some construction debris left on the stairs. The incident left the woman with a broken ankle that required surgery. The woman asked me to represent her in an effort to collect compensation for her injuries. We investigated the incident and built upon a strong case. We presented a Settlement Proposal to the defendant and participated in a mediation. After the mediation, we settled the case for $350,000. The settlement enabled the woman to relocate her family to Florida.
Proving Negligence in a Slip and Fall Case in the Bronx
To prove negligence, we needed to show that the landlord either caused the condition that injured my client or show that the landlord had prior knowledge of the condition and an opportunity to either remove the hazard or warn tenants of the problem. In this case, we traced the debris on the stairway to construction conducted by the landlord in the building. Our interviews with our client and other tenants also found that many tenants had complained about the debris. And we found tenants with photos of the debris and one woman who had taken a video of the aftermath from my client’s fall. This evidence helped us build a strong case to prove that the landlord defendant had both created the hazardous condition and had extensive warning about the hazard.
Settling a Case through Mediation
In my practice, after I complete my investigation, I present a Fact Sheet to my clients to review the fact pattern in a case. After my client’s medical condition stabilizes and I collect all the medical records, I prepare a detailed Case Assessment that examines liability and damages and determines the current value of the case. I review that document with my client and with their approval, I present a Settlement Proposal to the defense. Many attorneys simply submit a number as a settlement proposal, but I present a full package including a summary of the facts of the case, an analysis of liability and damages and all the supporting evidence. Doing so provides the defense with the information they need to assess the case and frames the case in the best light for my client. This approach yields a high rate of early settlements for my clients.
In some cases, defendants prefer to take a case to mediation or arbitration. This can be particularly true in higher value cases. I usually try to resolve the case before waiting for a mediation or arbitration, but many adjusters like the cover that mediation affords them. If questioned by a superior about a large settlement, they can say, “That’s what the mediator suggested” or “That’s what the arbitrator determined.”
A mediation and arbitration operate the same except an arbitration is binding and a mediation is not. The keys to success lie in preparing well, preparing as if preparing for a full trial, and selecting the right mediator. It is important to know the mediators and arbitrators to make sure that you can avoid picking one who tends to favor defendants. My experience and contacts in the field enable me to know many of the leading mediators.
A mediation usually begins with each side presenting the basic outline of their case. There are no witnesses; often the defendant and plaintiff are not present. The mediator will meet with each side individually and then try to mediate the case either by bringing the two parties together for joint conversation or shuttling back and forth between both parties.
In this case, my client did not attend the mediation, but we had carefully reviewed the case and my assessment in advance and had an agreed upon value of the case. I was able to negotiate an offer that exceeded my client’s expectations which made accepting the offer easy to do.
I hope you found this information helpful. If you or a loved one has been hurt in a slip and fall or a stairway accident or if you have been injured due to another’s negligence, you may want to consult a New York personal injury attorney experienced with slip and fall cases. I would be glad to answer your questions and assist you. The consultation is always free. You can call me at 1-800-660-1466 or email me. You can also visit my website or read more on my blog, New York Law Thoughts.
Carol L. Schlitt
New York Personal Injury Attorney
www.SchlittLaw.com
http://nylawthoughts.com
1-800-660-1466
Carol@SchlittLaw.com
This material is intended for informational uses only. It is not meant as legal advice. To receive legal advice, you should consult an attorney. Remember, past results do not guarantee similar outcomes in the future.
All content of this site:
© copyright 2010-2012 by Carol L. Schlitt
The material presented in this blog may not be reproduced or appropriated in any way without the explicit permission of the author.
Settlement for a Slip and Fall in a Bronx Stairway January 23, 2012
Posted by Carol L. Schlitt in Slip and Fall, Stairway Accidents.Tags: New York Personal Injury Lawyer, personal injury settlement, Slip and Fall, Stairway Accident
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In late June 2011, a mother went to pick her daughter up from a charter school in the Bronx. While walking down an interior stairway, she slipped on a small puddle of water, fell down several steps and injured her ankle. A trip to the emergency room at Lincoln Hospital revealed she suffered a fractured ankle (lateral malleolus). The woman asked me to represent her in an effort to collect compensation for her injuries. After conducting an investigation of her case and negotiating with the insurance company for the charter school, we reached a settlement. In just over four months from the date the woman retained me, we settled her case, making for a very pleased client.
A Slip and Fall in a Bronx Stairway
In this case, the woman had left work to pick her daughter up at school. It has been raining much of the day and the woman dressed for the weather and brought an umbrella. She walked down a long hallway in the school and then went up a stairway to her daughter’s classroom. After speaking with her daughter’s teacher, the woman began walking back down the stairs.
She held onto the hand rail with her left hand and carried a small plastic bag in her right hand that held her umbrella. As she reached the second step, her foot slipped on some water and her feet went out from under her. She fell backwards and went down the remaining flight of stairs. Her right leg bent underneath her and she heard a “pop.”
The woman lay in pain at the foot of the stairs. She tried to get up, but felt too much pain in her right leg. A school official came to her aid and called an ambulance. The ambulance took the woman to Lincoln Hospital.
Proving Liability in a Stairway Slip and Fall Case
The challenge in this case was to prove that the school was negligent in allowing the water to gather on the interior stairway and not cleaning it up or warning people about the hazard. In this case, we had the statements of our client and her daughter. We had photographs and diagrams of the incident as well as an ambulance report, all of which we used to support our case. The insurance company for the charter school argued that the school could not prevent water from coming inside on a rainy day, but we showed how this was not an exterior stairway, but a stairway well inside the building.
With this evidence and the way we built our arguments, we were able to present a convincing case to the defendant.
Settling a Slip and Fall Case Quickly and for Good Value
After investigating the case and after my client’s health status stabilized, I prepared an assessment of the case. I reviewed the case assessment with my client and then presented a Settlement Proposal to the defendant’s insurance company. I do all I can to move my clients’ cases as quickly as possible. Once I presented the Settlement Proposal to the insurance company, we entered into negotiations. The adjuster posed certain challenges and requested some additional information. I responded as quickly as possible and demonstrated both the thoroughness and strength of our case. We were able to settle the case for good value at an amount that pleased my client and we did so in less than just over four months from the day my client retained my services.
I hope you found this information helpful. If you or a loved one has been hurt in a slip and fall or a stairway accident or if you have been injured due to another’s negligence, you may want to consult a New York personal injury attorney experienced with slip and fall cases. I would be glad to answer your questions and assist you. The consultation is always free. You can call me at 1-800-660-1466 or email me. You can also visit my website or read more on my blog, New York Law Thoughts.
Carol L. Schlitt
New York Personal Injury Attorney
www.SchlittLaw.com
http://nylawthoughts.com
1-800-660-1466
Carol@SchlittLaw.com
This material is intended for informational uses only. It is not meant as legal advice. To receive legal advice, you should consult an attorney. Remember, past results do not guarantee similar outcomes in the future.
All content of this site:
© copyright 2010-2011 by Carol L. Schlitt
The material presented in this blog may not be reproduced or appropriated in any way without the explicit permission of the author.
Rapid Settlement for a Fall on the Stairs at a Broadway Theater January 30, 2011
Posted by Carol L. Schlitt in Personal Injury Law, Premises Liability, Slip and Fall, Stairway Accidents, Trip and Fall.Tags: New York Lawsuit, New York Personal Injury Lawyer, ny personal injury attorney, Rapid Settlement, Slip and Fall, Stairway Accident, Trip and Fall
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Last July, a Long Island woman and her husband travelled to Manhattan to take in a Broadway show. She expected to come home with some pleasant memories; instead, she came home with a broken finger. In September, the woman contacted me to see if I could help her get some compensation for her injury. There’s good news all around on this case: the woman’s finger healed quickly, fully and without complications and we were able to resolve the case and get the woman a satisfactory settlement in four months.
Trip and Fall at the Theater
The case started on a warm July night, when the woman and her husband took in a Broadway show. Just prior to the start of the show, the woman used the rest room, which happened to be located one floor up. On her way back down the steps, the woman encountered a huge crowed coming up the stairs, forcing her to the left of the staircase. She was jostled and fell. She reached for the handrail, but there was no handrail on the left side of the stairs, so she fell to the ground and hurt her finger.
The theater manager apologized for the injury and offered the woman an ice pack. She returned to her seat to take in the show. By the time the curtain came down, her hand had swollen and she experienced tremendous pain. Cancelling dinner plans, her husband drove her to the emergency room where doctors diagnosed a fractured finger. Over the next four weeks, she received treatment from a local orthopedist until the finger healed.
Fast Settlement
The woman and her husband came to me in September and asked for my assistance in placing a claim. I conducted an investigation and prepared a case assessment. Because trip and fall incidents can be hard to prove and because the woman had such a good recovery, the case would not attract a large award and made going to trial a costly proposition. I reached out to the defendant, who also wanted to avoid a trial. I made a comprehensive settlement presentation that raised the offer made by the defense. In the end, we reached a fair compromise on compensation for my client, an amount that pleased the woman and her husband. I always try to move each case as fast as possible. Reaching a settlement in four months is good. We could have settled even sooner except we needed Medicare to sign off on a medical lien, which added almost two months to the case. (If a settlement covers medical expenses paid by Medicare, one cannot settle a case unit Medicare provides both a final lien amount.)
While not a large case, this case was important to the woman and her husband and thus important to me. I investigated the case, prepared a fact sheet and a case assessment and sought a settlement as soon as possible. The legal process can be very slow so I work hard to squeeze every day out of the process to move my clients’ cases as quickly as possible. Having a clearly defined injury and recovery and a responsible and responsive defendant makes it possible to settle a case in four months.
I hope you found this information helpful. If you or a loved one has been hurt in a trip and fall or if you have been injured due to another’s negligence, you may want to consult a New York personal injury attorney experienced with slip and fall cases. I would be glad to answer your questions and assist you. The consultation is always free. You can call me at 1-800-660-1466 or email me. You can also visit my website or read more on my blog, New York Law Thoughts.
Carol L. Schlitt
New York Personal Injury Attorney
www.SchlittLaw.com
http://nylawthoughts.com
1-800-660-1466
Carol@SchlittLaw.com
This material is intended for informational uses only. It is not meant as legal advice. To receive legal advice, you should consult an attorney.
Slip and Fall on Snow and Ice January 29, 2011
Posted by Carol L. Schlitt in New York Law, Premises Liability, Slip and Fall, Stairway Accidents, Trip and Fall, Uncategorized.Tags: comparative liability, Lawsuit in New York, Legal Terms, New York Laws, New York Medical Malpractice Attorney, New York Personal Injury Lawyer, ny personal injury attorney, Pedestrian Safety, Premises Liability, Slip and Fall, Stairway Accident, Trip and Fall
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We have had record snowfall in New York this month and that means plenty of people slipping and falling on snow and ice. As a personal injury attorney, I am frequently asked when is a slip and fall on snow and ice one of the hazards of the season and when does it result from negligence?
Sometimes a slip on snow and ice is simply an accident. It has happened to all of us and if we’re lucky, we get up, wipe off the snow and hope that no one saw us fall. If we’re lucky, we can laugh about it. Sometimes the slip and fall can cause injury, especially among the elderly. The fall can break bones or leave us with bad backs or sprains of our knees, ankles and wrists. The reality is that simply because one suffers an injury does not mean that someone else is to blame. Common sense and our experience tells us that during and after a snowstorm, we all need to tread with a little more caution.
Yet there are times when a slip and fall on ice that causes an injury resulted from the negligence of the property owner. Failing to properly remove ice and snow or to fix a condition that creates an ice hazard are common forms of negligence that can lead to an injury. Clearing snow and ice, but in a haphazard or inconsistent way can create a dangerous situation and lead to negligence.
What Can a Property Owner Do to Prevent Slips and Falls on Snow and Ice?
No one wants to see someone slip and fall on their property and suffer an injury. In the face of snow and ice, what is a property owner to do? We have an obligation to take reasonable steps to clear ice and snow from walkways and public passageways. Many municipalities, such as New York City, require property owners to clear the sidewalks in front of their buildings. Owners of stores and offices need to clear the entrances and exits to their buildings. Parking lot owners, if they intend their parking lot to be used, need to clear the snow and ice from their parking lots.
Applying a reasonableness test means that we do not need to clear walkways in the middle of a snowstorm, but should do so in a reasonable time after a storm. The reasonable test means that we should do a thorough job of clearing ice and snow. If I clear the sidewalk in front of my building, then I need to clear a pathway wide enough to allow foot traffic and I need to be consistent so that I don’t leave icy patches. If I clear a parking lot, I need to clear the entire area that people may use and I should not leave icy patches. Why is consistency important? If I create the impression that the walkway or parking lot is clear and yet I leave some icy patches, then I set a trap for someone to fall.
If I know that snow will melt and refreeze on a passageway – creating the dreaded black ice – then I have an obligation to prevent the ice from forming and to clear the ice so it does form. That means putting down sand or salt or some other substance to melt the ice. I have an obligation to monitor the condition of the walkway to make sure it is safe.
Private homeowners have more leeway. For example, at my home, we leave part of our driveway uncleared so our children can go sleigh riding. (As they reach college age, there’s less frolicking in the snow). However, we do clear part of the driveway and the path that leads from the driveway to the house. In doing so, we create an expectation for visitors that the cleared path is safe. If we did a poor job, we could create a hazard. In general, if a private homeowner does nothing, that homeowner creates no expectation that the path is safe to travel. If you do clear a path, then you must do a good job to make it safe for use.
When Does a Slip and Fall Result from Negligence?
Having reviewed the reasonable expectations of what a property owner should do, it becomes easier to identify when a slip and fall results from negligence. If a sidewalk or parking lot is cleared in a haphazard way, creating icy patches, that can be negligence. If black ice forms and should have been prevented or cleared, that can be negligence. If a defect, such as a leaky pipe, causes black ice to form, that can be negligence. If a landlord only clears part of a sidewalk and a person goes to use that sidewalk and falls, that could be a negligence case.
It is important to remember that no matter what a property owner does, as pedestrians, we all have an obligation to tread with caution and to be wary of potential hazards caused by ice and snow. In trials resulting from slips and falls on ice and snow, juries often look first at the victim and wonder how he or she could let this happen. Because of that perception, it can be very hard to prove a slip and fall on ice case. Even when a plaintiff prevails, juries commonly hold the plaintiff – that is the victim of the slip and fall – at least partly responsible for a slip and fall on ice.
In the past week, I have received numerous phone calls and emails from people asking if their fall on snow and ice resulted from another party’s negligence. Let’s look at some of these potential cases:
- A college student pulls into the designated parking lot to attend class on Friday morning, the day after the snowfall. She parks in a designated lot, which has been cleared. As she walks towards her classroom building, she falls on an icy patch and breaks her ankle. She may be able to prove negligence because the university had ample time to clear the parking lot and had told students to use that lot and report to class. The young woman had the expectation that the parking lot was safe to cross and it was not.
- A woman works cleaning houses. She shows up at one client’s home that requires that she walk down a flight of outdoor stairs to a basement apartment. She is very careful going down the stairs, but slips and falls on black ice and hurts her back. It turns out the black ice formed from water dripping from a busted gutter. The failure to fix the gutter and to clear the black ice that it caused created a hazard and forms the basis for a negligence claim.
- As a snowstorm wound down, a woman walked on the sidewalk in front of a fast food restaurant. She slips and falls on a snowy patch. A companion goes to tell the manager of the restaurant who is rude and does not offer to help. Because the snow had just ended, the restaurant probably cannot be held liable for this fall. It would be a very hard to prove negligence. Nonetheless, the woman should file a complaint with the restaurant owner given the manger’s rudeness.
Consider a few other sample slip and fall on snow and ice cases that I have handled which may further illuminate when negligence existed:
- A woman parked her car at a train station parking lot and walked to pay her parking fee at the pay station. She could not see and did not expect to find black ice that covered the pay station floor. It turns out that the railroad failed to clear the ice. The woman slipped and fell and hurt her neck and so badly that she ultimately required surgery. After proving liability at trial, the defendant settled and paid $265,000.
- A Nassau County man walked to use a stand-alone ATM. On his way out of the parking lot where the ATM stood, he slipped and fell on uncleared ice. He fractured his ankle and required surgery. The parking lot owner had the obligation to clear the path to the open ATM and failed to do so. The defense settled the case for $160,000.
- A Bronx man walked out of his friend’s apartment building and slipped on some uncleared ice, breaking his ankle. The landlord had cleared some of the sidewalk, but as the man made his way home, he slipped on an icy patch the landlord had failed to clear. The case settled on the eve of trial for $150,000.
- A Suffolk County woman walked out of her chiropractor’s office a few days before Christmas and slipped and fell on some ice injuring her back. It turns out that the lawn sprinklers had run that morning and created the icy hazard. Several of the retail tenants called to complain, but the property owner ignored their calls to clear the sidewalk. Because he created the hazard with the sprinklers (in December!) and failed to clear the ice despite ample warning, the landlord bore liability for the woman’s fall. The case settled at mediation for $35,000.
In all the bad weather we have had, we all need to use some extra caution and care. If you are a property owner, take care to fulfill your obligation to keep your public access areas safe. If you are out walking, wear shoes that make sense for the conditions and be wary of icy patches. If you slip and fall and injure yourself, make sure you get the medical care you need. If you think your injury resulted from the negligence of another person or party, you may want to discuss the incident with a personal injury attorney experienced with handling slip and fall cases on snow and ice. I will be glad to answer your questions and assist you. There is never a charge for this consultation. You can call me at 1-800-660-1466 or email me. You can also visit my website or read more on my blog, New York Law Thoughts.
Carol L. Schlitt
New York Personal Injury Attorney
www.SchlittLaw.com
http://nylawthoughts.com
1-800-660-1466
Carol@SchlittLaw.com
This material is intended for informational uses only. It is not meant as legal advice. To receive legal advice, you should consult an attorney.
Not Every Case Is a Big Dollar Case, but Every Case Matters January 25, 2011
Posted by Carol L. Schlitt in Bus and Subway Cases, Car Accidents, Consumer News, Legal Services, Medical Malpractice, Slip and Fall, Stairway Accidents, Uncategorized, Wrongful Death.Tags: bus accident, car accident, car accident attorney, case against the new york city police department, cases against new york city, Large settlement, Lawsuit in New York, Medical Malpractice, motor vehicle accident, New York Lawsuit, New York Medical Malpractice Attorney, New York Personal Injury Lawyer, ny personal injury attorney, serious injury, Slip and Fall, Stairway Accident, Top Bronx Attorney
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I often hear from potential clients who ask if their case is large enough for me to take. Others wonder if I will devote enough attention to their case if it will not return a large award. I make a promise to do everything I can to get the most compensation for each of my clients. Yes, it is nice to win the big case, the headline case, but what matters is getting the most for each case.
Sometimes a small case turns into a large case. I have won several settlements and trials worth over $500,000 where other attorneys had turned down the case. Sometimes a case has a small value, yet every extra dollar can make all the difference to a client. After each case, I ask myself, “Did I do all I could to get the most for my client? Did I get my client all that I possibly could?”
What Starts Small Sometimes Turns into a Large Case
In recent months, I have won four very large cases for my clients, two of which I tried for other attorneys. Each case started small, with the client and others seeing little or no value in the case. By thoroughly investigating each case, by rigorously preparing for trial, by looking for every opportunity to increase the case value, I turned each of those small cases into big wins. Consider these outcomes:
- A New York City Transit Bus struck an elderly immigrant woman in Washington Heights. Transit Authority thought so little of the case that they refused to offer any settlement. By the time I finished investigating the case and presented it at trial, the jury returned an award of $500,000. (Click here to read more.)
- A woman’s mother died within days of entering a Queens nursing home. Other attorneys turned down the case. I took it promising only to investigate, but making no promises on whether we actually had a case. By the time we finished investigating, it was clear that we had a strong wrongful death and medical malpractice case against the nursing home. After we filed suit and completed depositions, the defendant settled for $625,000. (Click here to read more.)
- A young girl witnessed the New York City Police falsely arrest her father and beat him. The City offered a small amount to settle the case and all agreed that the daughter’s case was worth no more than half of the father’s case. By the time I finished presenting my case at trial, the daughter settled for $250,000, much more than anyone expected and almost as much as her father received. (Click here to read more.)
- A Bronx woman slipped and fell down the stairs on her way to work and broke her ankle. She thought she might collect some money from her landlord. After investigating the case, we found a pattern of problems in the building and a record of complaints about problems on the staircase. We settled the case for $350,000. (Click here to read more.)
I make no false problems that every case will result in a large court award or settlement. The lessons of these cases are simple. If you have a potential case, contact a personal injury attorney. If the case is at all viable, a good attorney will investigate the case. That investigation, if done right and in concert with the right professionals, may find value where no value appears to exist. As an attorney, I know that if I keep looking, if I prepare the best possible case, I can help my clients receive the maximum value for their cases. By fighting for every dollar, a small case can turn into a big case.
Every Dollar Counts
While everyone wants to hear about the big dollar cases, most cases are smaller. What matters to me is getting the most on each case regardless of size. Consider these recent cases:
- A woman tripped and fell on the stairs while attending a show at a Broadway Theater. The woman broke her finger. While the finger healed, the woman grew frustrated that the theater would have such an obvious defect in the stairway. We pursued a case. The defense offered $1,000. After much back and forth, I was able to raise the initial offer to $5,000. Now $5,000 is not the largest case, but increasing the initial offer by 500 percent made a difference for my client and put substantially more money in her pocket.
- A woman slipped and fell in a Long Island supermarket. I assessed the case as worth between$15,000 and $20,000 at trial given some of my client’s prior conditions and some concern about proving liability at trial. My client wanted to have surgery on both her knees and a settlement that low would not pay for the surgery. By working with her doctors and engaging in extensive negotiations with the insurance company, we were able to settle the case for $25,000. In addition, I negotiated to lower a medical lien the woman owed so she could keep more of her settlement.
- A woman hurt her back in a car accident, yet it appeared that she would have difficulty meeting New York’s serious injury threshold and would be left with nothing for her injury. While her soft tissue injury was minor, it was real. The insurance company offered to settle the claim for less than $3,000. After substantial negotiations, we raised that offer to $6,000, putting several thousand dollars more in my client’s pocket.
None of these cases would make headlines, but for each client, their particular case was the most important one in the world. By keeping the faith with my clients, by fighting for every dollar I could win for them, I helped each person receive the most he or she could. It is never simply about winning a case or settling; it is about doing my best for each client.
I hope you have found this information helpful. I practice personal injury law in the New York metropolitan area. If you or a loved one has suffered an injury through the negligence or recklessness of another, you may be entitled to compensation. If you have questions, you should consult an experienced personal injury lawyer in New York. I will be glad to answer your questions and assist you. There is never a charge for this consultation. You can call me at 1-800-660-1466 or email me. You can also visit my website or read more on my blog, New York Law Thoughts.
Carol L. Schlitt
New York Personal Injury Attorney
http://www.schlittlaw.com/
http://nylawthoughts.com/
1-800-660-1466
Carol@SchlittLaw.com
This material is intended for informational uses only. It is not meant as legal advice. To receive legal advice, you should consult an attorney.
$350,000 Settlement for Bronx Woman Hurt in Slip and Fall on a Stairway October 19, 2010
Posted by Carol L. Schlitt in In the News, Premises Liability, Slip and Fall, Stairway Accidents.Tags: Bronx slip and fall, Bronx stairway case, Large settlement, New York Personal Injury Lawyer, ny personal injury attorney, Slip and Fall, Stairway Accident, Suit against landlord, Top Bronx Attorney, Trip and Fall
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I recently negotiated a $350,000 settlement for a woman who sued her landlord over injuries she suffered in an accident in her apartment building. We argued that the landlord’s negligence caused her to slip and fall on a stairway and fracture her ankle. This woman will finally receive the compensation for the injustice done her. The money will enable her to relocate to with her sons and provide a better life for her family.
Let me share with you the facts of this slip and fall case and the process that led to the $350,000 settlement.
Landlord Negligence Leads to a Resident’s Injury
In August 2008, the residents in a Bronx apartment building complained to the landlord about repair debris left in the stairwell of the building. The landlord failed to respond to their complaints. One of the building’s tenants, a woman who worked as a home health aide, awoke and left for her job one morning and slipped on a grease-like substance on the stairs and fell several steps with her right foot bent backwards.
A Broken Ankle that Required Surgery and Extensive Rehabilitation
An ambulance came and took her to the hospital. Diagnosed with a broken ankle, the woman underwent surgery and required months of physical therapy. The permanent damage to her ankle made it impossible for her to return to work as a home health aide.
Proving the Slip and Fall Case
In all slip and fall cases, we need to prove two main points:
- That the negligence of a party contributed to the slip and fall
- That the slip and fall caused injury and harm
In this case, we had testimony and evidence that the tenants had complained to the landlord about the dangerous conditions in the stairway. We also had strong evidence that it was the debris in the form of a sticky liquid substance that caused the woman’s fall. That evidence included not only the testimony of the victim and her neighbors, but a videotape that a neighbor had taken of the stairway and the woman after her fall while waiting for the ambulance to arrive. The use of camera phones and the video cameras built into smart phones like the iPhone can greatly aid the prosecution of personal injury cases.
Maximizing the Case Value for My Client
I recognize that while many personal injury lawyers can win a case, my challenge and my mission is to get the maximum possible value for my clients. In this case, I spent considerable time analyzing the injury and other losses suffered by this client. I researched the case law, consulted with medical experts and developed convincing presentations. I was also able to make use of previous cases with clients who had similar injuries, including one case with a similar injury that involved the same insurance company and defense firm. This effort helped maximize the award that my client received.
The Settlement Process
Once the woman called me for help, I began an investigation into her case. I gathered all the possible evidence, interviewed witnesses and reviewed the medical records. I then prepared a comprehensive assessment of the case for my client. When she was comfortable with the assessment, I put together a settlement package for the defense.
The insurance company showed some interest in negotiating a settlement, but was slow to act. I have always found that the best way to press for a favorable settlement for my clients is to prepare a rigorous case for trial. When the insurance company opted not to settle immediately, I filed a lawsuit against the defendant and we moved ahead with depositions.
The aggressive prosecution of the case and the strength of the case we prepared helped the defense to find a renewed interest in settling the matter. The defense suggested mediation. The mediation yielded a settlement that my client was happy to accept.
Because of lengthy delays in the trial calendar in the Bronx, by settling when we did, the client received her money about two years before the case would have gone to trial.
Results Matter:Maximizing Value for Clients
What are the results of this case? Any time a client receives a large settlement, that settlement can make a difference. I would like to believe that the landlord will heed the complaints and warnings of his tenants and keep the buildings safe. While the trial will not undo the pain and suffering my client endured due to the incident, the compensation will allow her to relocate and give her teenage sons a better environment in which to grow up. A satisfied client is the best result of any case.
I hope you found this information helpful. If you or a loved one has been hurt in a slip and fall or a stairway accident or if you have been injured due to landlord negligence, you may want to consult a New York personal injury attorney experienced with slip and fall cases. I would be glad to answer your questions and assist you. You can call me at 1-800-660-1466 or email me. You can also visit my website or read more on my blog, New York Law Thoughts.
Carol L. Schlitt
New York Personal Injury Attorney
www.SchlittLaw.com
1-800-660-1466
Carol@SchlittLaw.com
This material is intended for informational uses only. It is not meant as legal advice. To receive legal advice, you should consult an attorney.
Stairway Falls: Avoid Them If You Can, Take Action if You Can’t May 4, 2010
Posted by Carol L. Schlitt in Consumer News, Premises Liability, Slip and Fall, Stairway Accidents, Trip and Fall.Tags: New York Personal Injury Lawyer, ny personal injury attorney, Slip and Fall, Stairway Accident, Trip and Fall
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Stairway falls remain a leading cause of non-intentional injuries. The simple act of walking up and down a stairs, which each of us do thousands of times a year, can turn dangerous, even deadly, if we do not use adequate caution. Property owners, building managers and landlords can create dangerous situations when they have stairways that do not conform to safety standards or they fail to maintain their stairways.
As a personal injury attorney who has helped many clients injured in stairway accidents, I am well aware of the risks involved and the consequences. Property owners can take reasonable steps to ensure the safety of their stairways. When property owners act negligently and that negligence causes harm to a person, I want to help that person receive what they are owed from the property owner.
Nearly Eight Million People Suffer Injuries in Stairway Accidents
A January 2009 article in All Business, discussed the impact of stairway falls in America. The article cited the All Injury Program, a joint venture of the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, CDC and Consumer Product Safety Commission, which found that falls are a leading cause of nonfatal injuries in the U.S. “In 2003, there were 18,044 fall-related deaths; in the same year, fall-related injuries were responsible for more than 701,000 hospitalizations. In addition, falls were reported to have led to nearly 7.2 million emergency department visits for which patients were treated and released. A recent study shows that the total number of fatal and nonfatal fall-related injuries in the U.S. in 2000 cost an estimated $26.9 billion in healthcare expenses. This cost is projected to increase to $32.4 billion by 2020.”
What Do We Know About Stairway Falls?
Research has revealed that many stairway accidents can be avoided. Not surprisingly, more accidents occur on the way down the stairs than on the way up the stairs. EHS Today found that “more serious upper and/or lower extremity injuries occur when traveling down a stairway than when traveling up a stairway. In stairway descent, the tread depth – or horizontal surface – must be adequate for the ball of the foot to land on the tread without extending over the step below. If not, an over-step or misstep can occur, causing a fall forward. Trips and falls that occur during stairway ascent are often attributed to variation in riser, or vertical surface, height.”
We humans are amazingly complex creatures with stunning abilities to make difficult calculations. Even the most advanced robots have difficulty going up and down a flight of stairs, though we do it with little thought. With a quick glimpse of the first and last steps, our brain calculates step height and tread depth. That is why uneven steps and unusual heights pose such a threat.
Poor Stairway Design Leads to Injuries
Most building codes specify acceptable tread depth and step heights. However, I have handled numerous cases where property owners were liable because they had stairwells that did not conform to these safety standards and, thus, people suffered falls and injuries. In a Bronx stairwell case, a woman tripped and fell on some cement steps where the risers were of uneven height and out of compliance with the building code. She suffered a bad ankle sprain. We settled that stairway case for $20,000. How much cheaper would it have been for the landlord just to replace those steps? The lesson is clear: make sure that all stairways conform to building codes.
Poor Stairway Maintenance Leads to Injuries
I have seen a fair number of cases where stairways originally met the building code standards, but lack of adequate maintenance led to a degradation that caused a dangerous situations. In a stairway fall that took place in the Bronx, a young girl tripped over a broken step. The step had been broken for months and the landlord failed to repair it. As a result, the young woman fractured her tibia and fifth metatarsal and a jury ordered the landlord to pay $560,000 in damages. How much better off would the landlord and the young girl have been if the landlord had simply repaired the broken step? I hope all property owners pay attention to these lawsuits and learn to protect their tenants and visitors.
I have other cases where workers left liquids and debris on the stairs that led to accidents. A simple sweep of the stairway could have prevented injuries and saved the property owner thousands of dollars.
What You Should Do to Prevent Stairway Accidents?
We all need to take reasonable precautions when using stairways. Doing so can help prevent accidents, though even reasonable precautions cannot prevent all stairway accidents.
If you are a property owner, make sure that your stairways meet building codes and maintain them so that your property remains safe. If you are a tenant or a visitor and you see a problem, notify the property owner or building manager of the danger so they can repair it.
What to Do If You Are Hurt in a Stairway Accident?
If you or someone you love is injured in a stairway fall, the most important objective is to treat that person’s medical needs. See a doctor as soon as possible or go to an emergency room. Follow the doctor’s orders.
Gather as much information about the cause and accident scene as possible. These steps include:
- Write down the exact address and location of the accident
- Take pictures of the accident scene. Remember, your phone might have a camera. I have a client who had a neighbor take a video of the stairway right after she fell and that video has proved very helpful.
- Write down the names and contact information for any witnesses.
- Take notes about the accident. What happened right before the accident, the actual event and the aftermath.
You should notify the property owner of the incident as soon as reasonably possible. In a commercial building, that could mean you need to contact the building agent or the super. In a restaurant, ask for the manager. If in doubt, you can consult with a personal injury attorney to ask whom to contact.
If you believe that your injury resulted from a defect or someone else’s negligence, you should consult a personal injury attorney. That attorney will interview you and conduct an investigation of the incident. The investigation will include the review of medical records and evidence, a review of the property owner’s past record including previous violations and lawsuits, interviewing witnesses and consulting the law. When I investigate a case, I prepare a detailed case assessment for my client that reviews issues of liability, damages and assesses the value of a case if it goes to trial or settles. With that information in hand, a client can decide how best to proceed.
When in doubt, you should contact a personal injury attorney experienced with stairway fall cases. I have handled many such cases and you can see a sample of them by clicking here.
I hope you found this information helpful. Please call or email me if you have comments, questions or would like assistance with a slip and fall case. You can also visit my website.
Carol L. Schlitt
New York Personal Injury Attorney
www.SchlittLaw.com
1-800-660-1466
Carol@SchlittLaw.com
This material is intended for informational uses only. It is not meant as legal advice. To receive legal advice, you should consult an attorney.
