$1 MILLION VERDICT FOR MANHATTAN WOMAN WHO SLIPPED AND FELL

Manhattan, New York. MONIER LAW Personal Injury Lawyer, PHIL MONIER, obtained a $1,040,560 verdict following a two-week trial before the Honorable Justice Shlomo Hagler, in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, New York County.  The lawsuit was brought against the owner and managing agent of the property located in East Harlem to obtain compensation for a 23 year-old Manhattan woman who slipped and fell on water on the floor in the basement of the building where she lived.  The accident occurred at 2:30 in the morning while she was using the laundry room in the basement of the building.  She claimed that the wet basement floor constituted a hazardous condition and was present as the result of a broken sink faucet which the owner and managing agent knew about and should have corrected.  The fall and resulting trauma caused her to suffer injuries to both of her knees.  Traumatic injury to the knees as the result of a fall not only damages the cartilage present to protect the bones, but the small pieces that break off are ground into the joint causing pain and further deterioration.  The Plaintiff’s treating and expert witnesses testified that as a result of this accident she was permanently partially disabled.  The verdict was returned after eight hours of deliberations over two-days and included compensation for past and future pain and suffering, as well as future medical expenses. The lawyer for the landlord argued that the water was from condensation off of an overhead pipe and did not come from the sink, a condition for which they had no prior notice, and that the property was in a reasonably safe condition.  The landlord’s lawyer also called medical doctors who testified that the condition of her knees was the result of her being overweight and pre-existed the accident. The Jury found that the accident was 90 per cent the fault of the defendants, as the result of their failure to use reasonable care in the ownership and operation of the building. Following the verdict, PHIL MONIER commented that, “We are satisfied with the jury’s resolution of the issues in this case.  In this case we called eight witnesses to provide the jury with the evidence it needed.  The compensation obtained for this victim of negligence will help in her continuing struggle with her very serious injuries.”