By Ronald C. Burke, Esq on Jan 10, 2022 | 0 Comments
On January 6, 2022, an appellate court overruled a Supreme Court, Bronx County Judge and ordered a retrial of a personal injury action brought by a plaintiff who fell down an exterior staircase. The trial court submitted the case to the jury on a liability theory exclusively premised on the lack ...
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By Ronald C. Burke, Esq on Dec 30, 2021 | 0 Comments
On December 29, 2021, an appellate court determined that a Brooklyn jury verdict of $14,705,000 was invalid because of the substitution of a regular juror with an alternate juror in the midst of deliberations, without instructing them to restart deliberations anew so the newly substituted juror c...
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By Ronald C. Burke, Esq on Dec 29, 2021 | 0 Comments
Last month the Appellate Division Second Department set aside a jury verdict in favor of a pedestrian who claimed that she suffered a crush injury to her foot caused by a New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA) bus in an accident that occurred late at night in Brooklyn. The plaintiff testified th...
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By Ronald C. Burke, Esq on Dec 28, 2021 | 0 Comments
On December 22, 2021, an appellate court covering an appeal from a defense verdict rendered by a Suffolk County jury, agreed that a Long Island Railroad train engineer was not responsible for the injuries suffered by a 30 year old male who was struck by a train. The plaintiff was residing in supp...
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By Ronald C. Burke, Esq on Dec 15, 2021 | 0 Comments
On December 3, 2021, the Appellate Term modified a Queens County, Civil Court jury verdict award of $150,000 for past pain and suffering in addition to $750,000 for 55 years of future pain and suffering to a 17 year old female injured in a rear end motor vehicle collision. The plaintiff testified...
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By Ronald C. Burke, Esq on Dec 03, 2021 | 0 Comments
On November 18, 2021, the NYS Appellate Division, First Department reduced a jury verdict of approximately $60,000,000 to $29,000,000 for the pain and suffering of a 16 year old boy horribly burned in a chemistry class at New York City public high school. The boy was burned during a chemistry dem...
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By Ronald C. Burke, Esq on Aug 18, 2021 | 0 Comments
On August 11, 2021, an appeals court covering Kings County upheld the decision of Justice Silber which denied a post-trial motion by the NYC Transit Authority to set aside a jury verdict in favor of a then 12 year old girl who slipped and fell on a puddle of water at the Grand Army Plaza subway s...
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By Ronald C. Burke, Esq on Aug 10, 2021 | 0 Comments
On July 7, 2021, an appellate court covering appeals from Kings County Supreme Court agreed that a roller skater at the Pier 2 Roller Ring at Brooklyn Bridge Park could not sue the rink for injuries suffered when she tripped over an uneven portion of the wooden floor. The general manager of the r...
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By Ronald C. Burke, Esq on Jul 16, 2021 | 0 Comments
On July 8, 2021, the Appellate Division, First Department reversed a Manhattan Judge who refused to enforce a settlement via email between counsel because plaintiff's counsel failed to retype his name on the email agreeing to the settlement offer of $400,000. Plaintiff's counsel revoked his accep...
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By Ronald C. Burke, Esq on Jun 19, 2020 | 0 Comments
On May 13, 2020 an appellate court covering Kings County overruled a Brooklyn trial court that allowed the manufacturer of a Warm Mist Humidifier to sue the parents of a 10 month old baby girl whose foot was badly burned by its product. The father had placed the humidifier on the floor in the liv...
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By Ronald C. Burke, Esq on Mar 09, 2020 | 0 Comments
On March 4, 2020, an appellate court resolved an issue on the value of an intra-articular fracture at the base of the thumb metacarpal bone. The injury was sustained by a bicyclist crossing an intersection when he was struck by a car.The plaintiff had surgery to reduce and fix the fracture with p...
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By Ronald C. Burke, Esq on Feb 20, 2020 | 0 Comments
On February 19, 2020 an appellate court decided what it believed was fair and reasonable compensation for a 9 year old girl involved in a skiing accident, who fractured her right femur (thigh bone) requiring surgery and developed a leg length discrepancy because the fracture involved the growth p...
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By Ronald C. Burke, Esq on Jan 27, 2020 | 0 Comments
It was reported on Westlaw today that a jury refused to award any damages to a woman (in her 40's) who claimed that she had been sexually abused by a chiropractor in Corning, New York during the course of his treatment at one visit. What is remarkable is that the jury, last October, found that th...
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By Ronald C. Burke, Esq on Jan 24, 2020 | 0 Comments
On January 22, 2020, an appellate court vacated a Staten Island jury verdict of $1,102,000, based on the improper comments of plaintiff's counsel in closing arguments. The jury had determined that a 73 year old woman suffering from multiple severe medical issues unnecessarily died as a result of ...
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By Ronald C. Burke, Esq on Nov 21, 2019 | 0 Comments
Yesterday, an appellate court reviewing a Queens County jury verdict awarding in excess of $12,000,000 to motorist struck by a NYC Transit Authority bus cut the verdict by almost $9,000,000. The motorist was at a complete stop at an intersection in Queens while he was being ticketed for a traffic violation when his car was struck by a bus.
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By Ronald C. Burke, Esq on Nov 15, 2019 | 0 Comments
Last week a Nassau County Supreme Court Justice dismissed a lawsuit against the Sewanhaka Central High School brought on behalf of a student who seriously injured himself while engaged in some hallway horseplay. In an attempt to simulate a basketball "slam dunk" the student jumped up over the hea...
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By Ronald C. Burke, Esq on Nov 14, 2019 | 0 Comments
On November 11, 2019 an appellate court directed that an injured bus passenger be given a new trial on her personal injury claim because a defense verdict awarded to the NYC Transit Authority was an absurd result. Basically, the jury found that the bus driver negligently discharged his passenger ...
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By Ronald C. Burke, Esq on Oct 10, 2019 | 0 Comments
On October 3, 2019, an appellate court found that a Manhattan jury had unreasonably failed to award any damages to a plaintiff who proved that a New York City police officer had used excessive force while arresting him. The jury found that the cop had smashed the plaintiff's face with a bullet-pr...
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By Ronald C. Burke, Esq on Oct 03, 2019 | 0 Comments
Last month the Appellate Division, Second Department was called upon to review a Kings County jury verdict that was shockingly low - implying a great dislike for the victim of a rear end car accident. The plaintiff established the defendant's liability for the collision based on a pre-trial Order...
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By Ronald C. Burke, Esq on Sep 09, 2019 | 0 Comments
On August 26, 2019, Governor Cuomo signed a new law that will allow victims of domestic violence to seek money damages against both those who violate an Order of Protection and those who fail to enforce that Order.
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By Ronald C. Burke, Esq on Sep 05, 2019 | 0 Comments
On August 29, 2019 a Manhattan Supreme Court Justice ruled that the owner of a building on the upper west side was legally liable for the injuries suffered by a pedestrian who tripped face forward over a pile of Christmas trees discarded on the sidewalk. The accident occurred late at night when t...
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By Ronald C. Burke, Esq on Aug 15, 2019 | 0 Comments
Yesterday, the Child Victims Act became effective paving the way for thousands of victims to file suits for money damages arising out of sexual abuse. This legislation increases the time during which sexual predators may be held both criminally and civilly liable. Under this new law victims of se...
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By Ronald C. Burke, Esq on Jul 25, 2019 | 0 Comments
On July 24. 2019 an appellate court agreed that the owner of a guard dog (who had never bitten anyone before) that lacerated the face of an 11 year old boy must stand trial. There was no proof that the dog had ever bitten anyone or acted aggressively so the owner filed a pre-trial motion to dismi...
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By Ronald C. Burke, Esq on Jun 27, 2019 | 0 Comments
Last month an appellate court overruled a Kings County Supreme Court Justice who allowed a grandmother to sue for the emotional injuries she suffered when her granddaughter (2 years old) was killed by falling debris from the facade of a commercial building in Manhattan.It was undisputed that the ...
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By Ronald C. Burke, Esq on Jun 24, 2019 | 0 Comments
Many cases involving sports related injuries are rejected or dismissed due to the assumption of risk doctrine. Once you choose to participate in any recreational activity you are usually thought to have consented to quietly accept any injuries arising out of that activity. But there are many exce...
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