Page 22 - Verdicts and Settlements Hall of Fame: Premises Liability

PREMISES LIABILITY
VERDICT & SETTLEMENTS
HALL OF FAME
#23
as a result of mold and the general wear and tear of use. He presented photographs of the ramp depicting its degeneration. He argued that the city had actual and constructive notice of the defect that caused Rudy’s accident.
Defense counsel contended that the platforms were inspected daily, and challenged Rudy’s credibility, noting that Rudy’s testimony contradicted statements he provided to an EMT who responded to the accident. Defense counsel suggested that the accident was caused by a trivial elevation of the lip of the platform.
Rudy sustained a spiral fracture of the distal region of his right leg’s tibia, which forms an upper portion of the ankle. His fracture was addressed at Lincoln Medical Center in the Bronx via closed reduction and the application of a cast..
Rudy underwent about ve months of treatment that included several replacements of his cast, but his doctor opined that the fractured components have not achieved proper union. Rudy claimed that he experiences pain that emerges during prolonged periods in which he is standing or walking, and he contended that his disability restricts his social life and prevents his resumption of one of his favorite activities: playing baseball.
Defense counsel contended that Rudy’s fracture healed properly and that Rudy has not sought medical treatment since 2006. He presented Rudy’s current physical-education teacher, who reported that Rudy participates in the class’s activities without restriction.
The jury found that the city was liable for the accident. It deter- mined that Rudy’s damages totaled $3.4 million.
Case: Padilla v. City of New York Attorney: Joshua D. Kelner Firm: Kelner & Kelner
Date: March 27, 2012
Verdict: $3,400,000
Skate park’s ramp poorly maintained, injured boy claimed
On July 8, 2006, plaintiff Rudy Padilla, 11, fell while he was skate- boarding at Mullaly Park, which is located in the Concourse section of the Bronx. He sustained a fractured ankle.
Rudy’s mother, Olga Padilla, acting individually and on Rudy’s behalf, sued the park’s operator, the city of New York, alleging neg- ligent maintenance created a dangerous condition.
Rudy claimed that he fell when one of his skateboard’s wheels became caught in a large hole in the platform of a wooden ramp; that he witnessed the wheel lodged in the hole, and; that he had noticed the hole some three months earlier.
The deck and several others had been installed about four years prior to the accident and, plaintiff contended, they gradually decayed
20 September 2016