The New York personal injury attorneys at Leav & Steinberg are proud to announce a $3.3 million settlement for our client who was injured in the lobby of a Manhattan building. While the recovery is substantial, we want to highlight the work, effort, and legal strategy that brought this client full and complete justice.
In February of 2016, our client, a 50-year-old man, was working as a delivery courier. He completed a delivery to a customer in a commercial building and then, upon leaving the building lobby, he tripped on his way out when a runner mat had improper edging and curled up as his foot stepped over it.
This man was injured at the time of the accident, but the true extent of his injuries wouldn’t be realized for several years. Our New York City attorneys are glad to have provided relief in what was truly an unfortunate incident – more on that later.
Our client sustained a fractured kneecap as well as a back injury. Being the genuine hard-working person he was, he continued his work day but returned to the building to make a report, requested that they preserve all video surveillance, and then went to urgent care.
He was treated at a local hospital thereafter and remained out of work for several weeks. Again, he returned to work as he wanted to move on with his life, despite having ongoing pain.
What is important to point out is that this client then transitioned to another career as a bus driver with several companies. In 2021, he realized that the back pain and knee pain had made any kind of work nearly impossible.
Many law firms would, at this point, tell the client that the GAP IN TREATMENT and HIS RETURN TO OTHER WORK would make connecting the injury and additional treatment challenging. Many New York City law firms would suggest a settlement at that point. Thankfully, the partners at Leav & Steinberg appreciated his genuine nature and honest complaints.
Due to continued pain in 2021, our client required surgery on his knee, and in 2022, required a lumbar fusion at L5-S1 and subsequently at L4-L5.
To this day, our client remains totally disabled and is under the care of an orthopedic surgeon.
A Complicated Case – How Leav & Steinberg Helped This Client Recover
The attorneys at Leav & Steinberg are familiar with personal injury claims resulting from defective building maintenance. After taking on the case, Leav & Steinberg meticulously documented all corroborating evidence pertaining to the building’s liability for our client’s injuries. Our New York City attorneys collected video evidence from the building, the original incident report from building personnel, as well as verbal statements from the building managers.
The video surveillance collected clearly showed that the cause of the accident was the dangerously unsecured mat/runner.
Chapter 3 of the New York Administrative Code holds that building owners have a duty to maintain their premises in a “reasonably safe condition in view of all the circumstances, including the likelihood of injury to others, the seriousness of the injury, and the burden of avoiding risk.”
In the case of our client, the building owner neglected their duty to maintain the lobby in a reasonably safe condition. By failing to inspect the safety of the mat or secure it properly to the floor, the building created a hazardous environment that resulted in our client’s injury.
In the summer of 2023, our New York City law firm attended a mediation, and an offer of $500,000.00 was made to resolve this case. Recognizing that the defendants had made motions for summary judgment and that there were issues with the gap in treatment, many firms would have suggested a resolution even if the figure was inadequate.
Leav & Steinberg’s New York attorneys defeated motions made to dismiss the case by the building owner and the maintenance company. We then attended a further mediation and showed the defendants all the strengths and how we positioned the case to allow our client full and complete justice.
The result: a settlement of $3.3 million which will allow our client the opportunity to live a meaningful life while dealing with the lingering effects of his injuries.
Contact Our NYC Personal Injury Attorneys
As you can see, the path to full and adequate recovery from injuries resulting from other’s negligence can be extremely complicated.
Don’t let an inexperienced attorney present you with inadequate paths to recovery.
If you or a loved one has been injured after falling, you would be well advised to contact an experienced team of New York accident attorneys.
Leav & Steinberg can help you understand your options and fight to ensure you recover the fullest lawful amount based on your case. See our past results to learn more.
For a free consultation, contact us or call 347-915-1361 today.
