The following basic items should be included in plaintiff’s initial Notice For Discovery and Inspection in an Elevator Accident Case occurring in The City of New York and adapted in other areas of the State. See below.
1. A copy of the contract with (Defendant Elevator Co.) pursuant to which they provided maintenance for the elevators at (Defendant Building Owners).
2. All work records for the subject elevator for a period of five (5) years prior to the accident alleged in the complaint herein.
In Cordeiro v. TS Midtown Holdings, LLC, et al., The New York Appellate Division, First Department on September 15, 2011, granted plaintiffs’ motion for partial summary judgment as to liability on their Labor Law § 240(1) claim.
The plaintiff sustained injury while preparing to remove elevator equipment from a building owned and managed by defendants by hoisting it through hatchway doors connecting a motor room with the floor below it. As plaintiff was sliding open the latch to the doors, they unexpectedly opened, causing him to fall to the floor below. Despite the fact that the doors were a permanent fixture of the building The Court in granting the motion and reversing the lower Court held;
“Plaintiffs met their prima facie burden of establishing entitlement to partial summary judgment on their Labor Law § 240(1) claim. Although the doors through which plaintiff fell were a permanent fixture of the building, they were not a “normal appurtenance,” but rather, an access opening specifically built for the purpose of allowing workers to perform their work on the building elevators by hoisting materials to the building’s motor rooms (Brennan v RCP Assoc., 257 AD2d 389, 391 [1999], lv dismissed 93 NY2d 889 [1999]). Accordingly, we find that the hatch in this case was a “device” within the meaning of § 240(1) (see id.; Crimi v Neves Assoc., 306 AD2d 152, 153 [2003]). Further, plaintiff did not step onto hatchway doors that opened accidentally (compare Bonura v KWK Assoc., 2 AD3d 207 [2003], and Rodgers v 72nd St. Assoc., 269 AD2d 258 [2000]). Rather, plaintiff was required to open the doors in order to hoist up the governor from the 19th floor hallway below. This exposed plaintiff to a gravity-related risk of falling into the hallway from the motor room (see Godoy v Baisley Lbr. Corp., 40 AD3d 920 [2007]).”
Our attorney Jeffrey Bloom will speak at the sold out Bridging the Gap program at the New York State Bar Association. He’ll be lecturing on “Commencing a Civil Lawsuit in New York” on September 12th.
You can register for overflow seating here.
Our Partner Ben Rubinowitz will be lecturing at the DECISIONS 2011 Program at the Prince George Ballroom, 15 East 27th St. New York City on Saturday, September 10, 2011. This is the Flagship Program Sponsored by the New York State Trial Lawyers Institute. This annual event is designed to provide insight, information and current trends in the law to Practicing Attorneys throughout the State. Recognized as an expert in the Fields of Personal Injury, Products Liability and Medical Malpractice Cases, Mr. Rubinowitz will be lecturing on Trial Practice with specific emphasis on new cases and trends in the law including important topics such as:
SOCIAL NETWORKING
What are the affirmative and defensive uses of Social Networks?
This is from a Seminar by The New York State Bar Association on New York Construction Accident Law which was held in 2008. The Seminar was developed by Howard S. Hershenhorn who was the over -all planning chair. The seminar has been held State wide since 2007. It will once again be presented by The New York State Bar Association on December 2, 2011 in Syracuse and Long Island, and December 9, 2011 in Albany and New York City. Further details will be posted.
At our firm we have always believed that the “plaintiff’s attorney” fills many roles. Not only as an attorney but as an advisor and friend. Obviously the first priority is to advocate with all one’s skills the client’s cause. The client is most often an individual who under normal circumstances could never afford the high quality of legal representation provided by the skilled personal injury attorney. The client is also usually experiencing the most traumatic event of their life. It has always been our philosophy that our attorneys must be both friend and advisor, for we are constantly called on to comfort the client as well as the client’s family. The attorney must see to it that the client receives all available insurance benefits and the best medical and rehabilitation services available.
Our partner, Howard Hershenhorn recently settled, at mediation, an extremely difficult personal injury case with regard to the liability of the defendant. The plaintiff was severely injured. Despite the many obstacles, we decided we would handle the case. Howard worked diligently on the case for years and was constantly there for his client. As a result of his efforts, a case we believed would proceed to trial with a good chance of an adverse verdict, was settled. Following the settlement, the client sent the following note to Howard:
“Hi Howard. I don’t know how to thank you for your commitment and determination. How fortunate for us to have found you…and that you believed in this case and agreed to take it. There’s no doubt on my mind that you did the best for us and the proof is on the outcome of last week’s meeting. You are a fantastic lawyer, as well as kind and compassionate. This is such a difficult journey. I appreciate how you and your team worked so diligently and at the same time protected us from enduring additional pain. Thank you on behalf of the boys too!”
On Wednesday, September 14, 2011 Ben Rubinowitz, a partner at Gair Gair Conason Steigman Mackauf Bloom and Rubinowitz, will chair the prestigious Masters Program for the New York State Trial Lawyers Association. This is a Free Program open to all NYSTLA members. Come see five of the very best trial lawyers in New York State deliver Opening and Closing arguments in cases in which they have attained 8 figure verdicts. Learn the answers to these questions: Why did the jury return such a large award? How did the lawyer ask for money damages? How did the lawyer work with favorable and unfavorable Trial evidence? See how these lawyers dealt with recurring problems and how they hurdled these problems to secure Justice for their clients. Actual Trial demonstrations will be conducted by Ben Rubinowitz, David Dean, Judy Livingston, Henry Miller and Evan Torgan. The Program will be held at the Hudson Valley Bank, 21 Scarsdale Road, Yonkers, New York. 6:00pm – 9:00pm.
To register click here.
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A supervisor at a state-run psychiatric center has been indicted for the criminally negligent homicide of an autistic 27-year-old patient.
The supervisor, Erik Stanley, said he used appropriate procedures in attempting to subdue Jawara Henry, 27, who died Dec. 4 at a Staten Island psychiatric center. But authorities said medical evidence showed he used a chokehold while Henry was on his stomach, although he didn’t intend to harm him, reports the New York Daily News.
Stanley, who was also charged with endangering the welfare of an incompetent or physically disabled person in today’s indictment, turned himself in and was released on his own recognizance.
The investigation included a review of medical and forensic evidence, in addition to interviews with eyewitnesses to the incident.
New York Personal Injury Attorneys Blog