Page 19 - Verdicts and Settlements Hall of Fame: Premises Liability

#17
hours prior to the accident. A fellow resident reported that mainte- nance’s workers performed incomplete snow-removal work that day.
Defense counsel contended that since sleet was falling at the time of the accident , the storm-in-progress doctrine applied. It provides that an owner is not obligated to perform snow or ice removal dur- ing an ongoing storm. Defense counsel also contended that Pollak’s fall was not caused by snow or ice. He noted that Pollak’s husband acknowledged that he did not notice ice or a slippery condition when he observed the area some ve minutes prior to his wife’s fall.
Ms. Pollak sustained fractures of transverse processes of her L1, L2, L3, L4 and L5 vertebrae. She also sustained a compression fracture of her T7 vertebra. Three days before Pollak went to the hospital. She underwent minor treatment.
Three months later she underwent a kyphoplasty, which is a mini- mally invasive procedure in which a compressed vertebra is in ated via an infusion of cement. She claims residual radiculopathy. A doctor opined that Pollak also suffers chronic pain syndrome, which is a condition marked by generalized pain.
Pollak undergoes physical therapy and pain management, and she claimed that she requires lifelong treatment. She also claimed that her residual effects prevent her resumption of work. Pollak’s pain- management expert opined that Pollak’s residual effects are permanent.
The parties negotiated a high/low stipulation: Damages could not exceed $1 million, but they had to equal or exceed $200,000. The jury determined that defendants had been negligent and computed the
Newark, N.J.-based Holby Valve Inc. Attack Plumbing alleged that Holby Valve failed to provide warnings that disclosed the hazards that could have resulted from incorrect installation of the valve.
Jamilla Jackson claimed that the scalding occurred while her boy- friend was supervising Alyahix. Her boyfriend contended that he activated the shower, waited until the water had reached a pleas- ant, consistent temperature, safely positioned Alyahix and left the bathroom. He claimed that several minutes passed before the boy screamed.
Plaintiff’s counsel expert established that with the controls set to “warm,” the shower occasionally delivered streams of water whose temperature reached 160 degrees Fahrenheit and that the Holby valve was improperly installed. Plaintiff’s counsel claimed that the prem- ises’ manager and owner should have monitored the performance of the shower.
Attack Plumbing’ contended that the valve should have been installed with a “thermal loop” which prevents hot water’s migration to the system’s cold water supply, but Kolby’s installation instructions omitted this important warning. Holby countered that the instruc- tions were adequate.
Alyahix sustained second- and third-degree burns of his back and buttocks. Alyahix underwent skin grafts at Weill Cornell Medical Center, in New York.. He bears signi cant residual scars which could be reduced with ve to 10 additional surgeries, but that the total could reach 17.
After the completion of discovery, the parties negotiated a pre- trial settlement, which was nalized via the guidance of Judge David Schmidt. The settlement totaled $4 million.
Case: Pollak v. Holiday Villas at Oakwood Homeowners Association Inc.
Attorney: Jack Tracy
Firm: Tracy, Stilwell & Parrinello, P.C. Date: May 6, 2013
Verdict: $4,150,940
Sloppy snow-removal work led to accident, condo’s tenant alleged
At about 6 p.m. on Jan. 11, 2009, plaintiff Lorely Pereyra Pollak, a 55-year-old unemployed woman, fell and sustained back injuries while descending a step that joined a walkway and the front patio of her residence, a condominium that was located on Vedder Avenue, in the Graniteville section of Richmond County.
Pollak alleged that the defendants negligent maintenance of the premises created a dangerous condition. Whereby she slipped on snow and ice. Pollak’s expert meteorologist opined that the snow and ice were residual products of a storm that had occurred during the prior day, and he estimated that all precipitation had ceased some 12
#18
Case: Jackson v. ree Nickels, LLC Attorney: Jonathan S. Damashek Firm: Hecht Kleeger & Damashek, PC. Date: June 20, 2012
Verdict: $4,000,000
Defective shower burned tot, mother claimed
On April 22, 2009, plaintiff Alyahix Jackson, 2, was scalded by a spray of water that had been discharged by a showerhead. The incident occurred in a Brooklyn apartment that was occupied by Alyahix’s mother’s boyfriend. Alyahix sustained injuries of his back and buttocks.
Jamilla Jackson, Alyahix’s mother and natural guardian, sued the residence’s owner, Brooklyn-based Three Nickels, LLC; the resi- dence’s managing agent, New York-based Reifer Management Corp.; and a company that had installed a valve that regulated the tem- perature of the residence’s water, Brooklyn-based Attack Plumbing Inc. Jamilla Jackson alleged that Attack Plumbing was negligent in its installation of the valve. She further alleged that the remaining defendants were negligent in their maintenance of the premises’ water-delivery system.
Attack Plumbing impleaded the rm that manufactured the valve,
September 2016 17