Woman Who Fell Down Stairs In Bronx Awarded $13 Million

A jury has awarded a woman $13 million for the injuries she sustained after falling down an apartment building staircase. Continue reading →

Apr 14, 2017 /prREACH/ -- In a stunning verdict, a Bronx jury awarded a woman $13 million after a fall down a century old set of stairs left her seriously injured.

In 2013, the plaintiff fell on a set of stairs that were slowly crumbling while visiting a friend. The fall caused her to shatter her ankle and break her leg in multiple places. Doctors performed several surgeries but the damage was serious enough that she has been unable to return to her career as a hairdresser, which requires her to stand for hours on end. Her medical expenses have caused both her and her husband financial stress and she couldn’t complete her recommended physical therapy  because she could not afford it. She testified that she still has pain and cannot sleep.

During the trial, her attorney, Mark Freund of Lipsig, Shapey, Manus, and Moverman pointed out that there was a consistent pattern of negligence exhibited by the company responsible for maintaining the building. First, they had assigned the upkeep of the entire building, which includes 50 apartments and 7 commercial stores, to one superintendent. This superintendent was also in charge of another building several miles away.

The plaintiff’s lawyer also showed that at least 11 of the steps had been replaced, one at a time, all within six months before the accident. He argued that if they had just invested a few hundred dollars into repairing the entire staircase at once, she would never have fallen and become injured.

This case is just one of hundreds of slip and fall lawsuits filed in New York every year by victims who have sustained serious injuries because of another party’s negligence. While monetary compensation cannot fully heal their physical injuries, it can ensure that they won’t go into severe debt trying to get the medical treatments that are so desperately needed.