NYC Injury Headlines

NY Law Department Prevails In Bronx Trip And Fall Case

New York, June 28, 2004 – After a weeklong trial, a Bronx jury found last Friday (June 25, 2004) that the City of New York was not negligent in a case involving an alleged fall by a plaintiff, Ramon Placencia, into a sewer catch basin. The case was the third win for New York City before a Bronx jury in less than a month and the eighth of 11 cases won since late February.

According to plaintiff Placenia’s testimony, he fell at 4 o’clock in the morning on Oct. 15, 1988, as he was going to get a cup of coffee after leaving his brother’s new auto repair shop where he had been helping to perform renovations.  Placenia said he stepped on a piece of plywood used to cover an open sewer catch basin, ultimately falling through the plywood and into the catch basin itself.

However, evidence introduced at trial established that Placencia had told hospital personnel that his injury had in fact taken place when he fell from a ladder or an open window. Evidence introduced at trial also showed the plaintiff had alcohol on his breath at the time of his admission to Lincoln Hospital, where he was treated for a lower back injury.
“We are very pleased that the jury supported our presentation of the case,” noted Edward Spark, an Assistant Corporation Counsel in the Bronx Tort Division and the attorney that tried the case for the City.

The case follows two other jury trial verdicts for the City in the Bronx:
• On Tuesday of last week (June 22, 2004), the office won a case involving several New York City police officers who had subdued a Bronx man, Michael Bents, in 1994 whom they said struggled with them. The man’s arrest followed a high-speed chase that began with a radio call suggesting that guns might be in the fleeing auto. The jury returned a verdict in less than 45 minutes, finding that two of the officers had acted appropriately. In addition, the judge dismissed the case against two additional officers, resulting in a complete City victory. Assistant Corporation Counsel Joe Mohbat of the Bronx Tort Division led the legal team in that case.

• On Wed., May 26, 2004, the office won a case involving a woman, Ileana Almodovar, who got out of her car under a dark overpass in the Bronx, so her son could check for a noise. A passing car hit her, shattering her leg. She sued her son, who was driving the car, the other driver and the City’s Department of Transportation. As far as the City's liability, the woman alleged that the City was required to have 24-hour lighting in the tunnel. However, the City produced a State expert witness at trial who refuted that this was a requirement. The jury returned a verdict finding no

The office has won 8 of its last 11 verdicts since late February. Among these was a well-known case called Garricks, which involved a woman who slipped and fell on ice although the City went to extreme measures following a large snowstorm in February 1995. Assistant Corporation Counsel Jennifer Herscovici won the Garricks case on retrial this past April. In addition, of the 8 Tort wins since late February, Ed Spark has won three of the decisions.