A Sample of Recent Municipal Liability Cases We Have Handled

A $120,000 Settlement with the City of New York for a Slip and Fall on the Brooklyn Promenade

In January 2011, a Brooklyn man out for a walk on the Brooklyn Promenade slipped and fell on an uncleared patch of ice. The incident tore the ligaments in his left elbow and required surgery and months of intensive physical therapy to repair the damage. The man asked us to represent him. We worked with the man to investigate the incident and to evaluate his medical condition. We made a settlement proposal to the City of New York and negotiated a settlement of $120,000 to compensate the man for his injuries.

A Settlement with MTA Bus for an Injury to a Bronx Bus Rider

A woman who had legally immigrated to the Bronx and worked as a nanny boarded the BxM3 bus to ride to work. In a freak accident, the bus driver hit the woman with a folding seat injuring her neck. The woman contacted me for help in collecting compensation from the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) for her injury. We settled her claim with an amount that met the value of the case and made the woman happy.

A Settlement for a Brooklyn Woman Injured in a Collision with a Garbage Truck

A New York City garbage truck struck a car stopped at an intersection in Brooklyn, injuring the woman driving the car and her passenger. Both people retained our firm to represent them. They had different injuries that required separate legal strategies to maximize the money a client receives. We achieved a rapid settlement for the passenger’s case, but the City’s offer to settle the case for the Brooklyn woman driving the car was too low. Therefore, we filed a lawsuit against the City and began the legal process. Our aggressiveness with the lawsuit provided the leverage needed for the City to increase their offer by more than three times to an amount that represented a fair value for the woman’s case and we settled the case.
Manhattan Jury Awards $500,000 for a Woman Knocked Down by New York City Transit Bus

A Manhattan jury awarded a Bronx woman $500,000 in compensation for the injuries she suffered when knocked down by a New York City Transit Authority bus.M

The case stemmed from a December 23, 2004 incident when woman crossed 181st Street at the intersection with St. Nicholas Avenue. As she reached the curb, the Bx3 bus pulled up to the intersection and hit the woman. The impact, while not very hard, knocked her to the ground. When New York City Transit refused to settle, we took the case to court and won the case at trial.

$570,000 Verdict for Shooting in Brooklyn (Personal Injury Case/Assault Case)

While waiting in line at her bank’s outdoor ATM, a woman heard a commotion near a bus stop. The commotion arose because an alleged thief attempted to rob an off-duty New York City police officer. A gunshot was fired striking the woman in the arm. While the evidence never determined exactly who fired the shot, as a result of Attorney Carol Schlitt’s arguments, the court held the City and the New York City Police Department 100 percent liable for the woman’s injury and the jury awarded $570,000 for lost wages and pain and suffering.

$265,000 Settlement Paid by Metro-North for Slip and Fall on Ice at the Garrison Train Station in Putnam County

In February 2003, a woman parked her car at the Garrison train station and walked to pay her parking fee at the pay station. What she could not see and did not expect was the black ice that covered the pay station floor. She slipped and fell on the ice, hurting her neck and shoulder. The neck injury required surgical repair at the Hospital for Special Surgery and post-operative therapy at Burke Rehabilitation Hospital. Attorney Carol Schlitt sued both Metro-North, which owns and operates the train station, and the parking lot contractor. She conducted an extensive investigation to document responsibility for snow and ice removal at the facility and in pre-trial motions attorney Schlitt won a court ruling that Metro-North bore full liability for clearing ice from the pay station. On the eve of trial, Metro-North settled the case for $265,000.

$225,000 Settlement for Torn Earlobe in Motorcycle Accident Caused by a Police Car in the Bronx (Motorcycle Accident Case):

A police car in the Bronx made a sudden left turn in front of a 19 year-old motorcyclist and crashed into his motorcycle. The impact of the crash threw the driver of the motorcycle over the roof of the police car, ripping his ear on the lights situated on the top of the police car. Attorney Schlitt assembled a team of experts to help prove the case. The City of New York pressed ahead to trial, but after hearing Attorney Schlitt’s case and her summation to the jury, the City agreed to settle the case while the jury was deliberating. The City of New York paid $225,000 for the torn earlobe.

$150,000 Settlement for Brooklyn Passenger Hurt in Bus Crash

A woman boarded a bus in Brooklyn expecting an uneventful ride. As the bus approached an intersection, a car ran a stop sign and struck the front of the bus.  The force of the impact caused the woman to fall to the floor and injure her knee.  She required arthroscopic surgery.  Although the Transit Authority denied any responsibility for causing this bus crash, during trial the case settled for $150,000 – the full policy limit of $25,000 for the offending car and $125,000 from the Transit Authority.

$45,000 Settlement for Man with Nose Broken by City Bus after a Yankee Game

A 50 year-old man had just left Yankee Stadium after a Yankee win and walked to corner of 161st Street in the Bronx.  While waiting to cross the street, a passing New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA) bus brushed him and knocked him down to ground fracturing his nose.  The bus driver claimed that the man walked into the side of the bus while he was driving slowly to avoid all of the pedestrian traffic in the area after the Yankee game.  On the eve of trial, the NYCTA settled the case for $45,000.

A Settlement for a Brooklyn Man Hurt in a Crash with a New York City Truck

A Brooklyn businessman rode in the front passenger seat in a colleague’s car when they came to a stop at the intersection of Troy Avenue with Fulton Street in Brooklyn. Suddenly, a New York City Sanitation truck hit them from behind causing minor damage to the car and sending both the driver and the passenger to Kings County Hospital. The Brooklyn man suffered soft tissue injuries and retained me to represent him. We settled the motor vehicle case with the City of New York making the Brooklyn man very happy.

Lawsuit Settled Over a Trip and Fall in Front of New York City Housing Authority Building

On a warm September evening, a woman set out from her Manhattan apartment to pick up some dry cleaning. As she walked past the Frederick Douglass Houses, the woman’s right foot became stuck in a broken edge of sidewalk and she fell forward, landing on her right knee and left arm and hand. This incident left the woman with bruises, abrasions and a possible tear of the right medial meniscus. The woman asked us to represent her and we settled the case with the New York City Housing Authority for an amount that exceeded the woman’s expectations and gave her fair value for her injury.