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8th Grader Assigned by School to Close Sliding Gate Severs Tips Of Fingers--$600,000 Jury Verdict

On June 14, 2017, an Appellate Court upheld a Suffolk Couty jury verdict which found an elementary school responsible for carelessly assigning an 8th grade student to close a sliding gate without any instructions, supervision or warning. The 8th grade boy was not informed to be careful even though three children, on prior occasions, had suffered injuries to their hands. The young boy did as he was told and in the process of closing the sliding gate severed the tips of his middle and ring fingers on his left hand.

At trial there was evidence showing that an inexpensive safety device was available that would have prevented the injury. The jury awarded the boy $600,000 in past and future pain and suffering.

The school's insurance company lawyers tried to blame the boy for the accident, but the jury found the boy was blameless. The insurance company attorney's also argued that the jury shouldn't be told about the other 3 children who suffered similar injuries with the exact same sliding gate and appealed on that ground. The Appellate Division, Second Department held that the prior accidents were reliable and probative on the issue of whether the sliding gate presented a dangerous condition since its condition was never changed or repaired subsequent to any of the accidents. 2017 WL 2562852  Martin v Our Lady of Wisdom Regional School

Ronald C. Burke, Esq

Trial Attorney with 30+ Years of Experience Attorney Ronald C. Burke, Esq. has more than 30 years of experience and has focused his career on representing clients in cases involving personal injury, medical malpractice and legal malpractice. He is a seasoned trial lawyer and has won many seven-figure settlements and verdicts for his clients over the years, including many case victories listed among the largest in the history of the New York State. He has been featured in the news and is a regular lecturer for the New York County Lawyers Association, as well as having lectured before the New York State Bar Association. Ron is also an attorney with Kelner & Kelner, a New York personal injury law firm. Awards and Accolades Mr. Burke's awards and accolades are many. Among them, he has been included in New York Super Lawyers® each year since 2010, and he has received the highest-possible AV® Rating from Martindale-Hubbell®. Verdict Search, a part of the New York Law Journal, frequently recognizes his notable successes after winning some of the highest settlements and verdicts in past years. He was also featured in their list of the "Top New York Verdicts " and "Top New York Settlements." He is a member of the New York State Bar Association and is licensed to practice law in the U.S. District Court for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, as well as before the United States Supreme Court. When Attorney Burke is not handling legal malpractice cases, he is highly involved in the local community. He was a member of the Village of Rockville Centre Volunteer Fire Department, has served on the local school board and as Chairman of the local Zoning Board. Learn more about Attorney Burke and how he can skillfully handle your malpractice case by contacting the Law Offices of Ronald C. Burke, Esq. right away to schedule your complimentary case evaluation. Our firm is here to help! Contact a New York Legal Malpractice Attorney Our firm provides each client's case with thorough preparation and aggressive representation, ensuring that you win the best possible results for your case whether it is settled or goes to trial. As a seasoned trial lawyer, Mr. Burke can provide the strong and relentless representation you need to establish negligence in a legal malpractice case and to recover any damages you may have suffered. Our firm can recover compensation for pre-trial and trial malpractice, violations of fee arrangements, loss of income, pain and suffering, and much more. Contact us today!

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