Sullivan Papain has filed dozens of Notices of Claim against the Long Island Power Authority, the utility providing the Breezy Point and Belle Harbor neighborhoods of Queens with electricity. 

 

The firm's clients charge LIPA with negligence in its management of the electrical system during Superstorm Sandy. Although a mandatory evacuation was in place for the Rockaway Peninsula and LIPA knew that its electrical systems there faced 11 feet or more of ocean storm surge, LIPA failed to "de-energize" its operations. When saltwater came into contact with the LIPA system, short circuits started fires that burned down more than 130 homes. LIPA failed to heed utility industry protocol that calls for shutting down power in the face of a severe flood. The purpose of this procedure is to protect property from fires. 

 

Consolidated Edison protected Manhattan, as well as Coney Island, Brighton Beach and Sheepshead Bay, just to the north of Breezy Point, by cutting off power before Sandy. LIPA even cut power to Fire Island to the east, anticipating fire hazards and the fact that floods would prevent effective firefighting responses, but failed to do so on the Rockaway Peninsula.

 

Good Day New York interviewed senior partner, Nicholas Papain and Breezy Point resident, Linda Strong about the litigation.  Watch here.  

 

Sullivan Papain has filed dozens of Notices of Claim against the Long Island Power Authority, the utility providing the Breezy Point and Belle Harbor neighborhoods of Queens with electricity. 

 

The firm's clients charge LIPA with negligence in its management of the electrical system during Superstorm Sandy. Although a mandatory evacuation was in place for the Rockaway Peninsula and LIPA knew that its electrical systems there faced 11 feet or more of ocean storm surge, LIPA failed to "de-energize" its operations. When saltwater came into contact with the LIPA system, short circuits started fires that burned down more than 130 homes. LIPA failed to heed utility industry protocol that calls for shutting down power in the face of a severe flood. The purpose of this procedure is to protect property from fires. 

 

Consolidated Edison protected Manhattan, as well as Coney Island, Brighton Beach and Sheepshead Bay, just to the north of Breezy Point, by cutting off power before Sandy. LIPA even cut power to Fire Island to the east, anticipating fire hazards and the fact that floods would prevent effective firefighting responses, but failed to do so on the Rockaway Peninsula.

 

Good Day New York interviewed senior partner, Nicholas Papain and Breezy Point resident, Linda Strong about the litigation.  Watch here.  

 

$11.5 Million for pedestrian on a park path struck down by a large dead tree limb that fell some 30 feet; resulting in severe brain injury and spinal cord damage with incomplete paraplegia - ASIA-C classification and multiple fractures of the spine and skull, requiring numerous surgical procedures, extensive hospitalization and ongoing rehabilitation. It was claimed that the tree limb should have been removed long before the accident because of its hazardous condition.

$11.25 Million for a child who was the victim of medical malpractice when a hospital did not properly diagnose and remove her spinal abscess.  The abscess compressed her spinal cord causing her to become a paraplegic.  The hospital doctors disregarded all of the early warning signs of her spinal condition and also misread her MRI.

$5.875 Million for elevator car passenger, whose leg and arm were crushed when the car ascended with its doors still open. It was claimed that a mechanic had improperly bypassed a safety interlock which allowed the elevator to ascend with the doors still open.

$2.6 Million for the failure to timely diagnose bladder cancer in a man in his early 60s, resulting in its spread and metastasis throughout the body, depriving him of a reasonable chance of cure from his cancer.

$2.4 Million for a 67 year-old female, who underwent a routine colonoscopy and sustained a perforation of the colon. The perforation went undiagnosed until three days after the procedure, during which time she developed peritonitis. Thereafter, the plaintiff required an emergency laparotomy to repair the perforation, colostomy and numerous surgeries to repair small bowel obstructions.

$2 Million for a 74-year old male in good health who underwent elective surgery to remove his gallbladder. It was claimed that the procedure was negligently performed in that the plaintiff suffered an occlusion of the common bile duct, which went undiagnosed until one month after surgery.      

 

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by Hugh M. Turk

Given the volume of commuters between New York and New Jersey, you are likely to find yourself with a client who was injured in a car accident, trip and fall, medical malpractice incident or other accident across the Hudson. If you are not admitted in New Jersey, or haven't practiced there in a while, give us a call. SPBMC is one of the few plaintiff's personal injury firms with established, full service offices in both New York and New Jersey. Many of our clients live in New York but work in New Jersey or vice versa. As a result, when our clients are injured, we have to know the laws of both states that apply to their case. Not surprisingly, there are big differences between the two states. Here are a few:

• In New York, someone injured in an accident generally has three years to file suit. In New Jersey, an injured person has only two years to sue. 

• In New York, if your client is injured as a result of medical malpractice committed by a private medical provider, the client has 2-1/2 years from the date of the malpractice or date of the last continuous treatment by that provider within which to file suit. Although the New Jersey statute of limitations is only two years, New Jersey has a discovery rule which gives the plaintiff two years from the day the client knew or should have known that they had a cause of action to file suit. In a failure to diagnose cancer case, this is usually from the date of diagnosis. This is very beneficial to the client, because their cancer that was missed may not have been found until more than two and a half years after the treatment ends. Don't necessarily think the New Jersey claim is barred!  

• Another big difference between the two states is in the effect of a plaintiff's own negligence on his recovery. As you know, in many cases, particularly car accidents, it is common for a jury to find both drivers at fault. In both New York and New Jersey, the defendant is not required to pay that percentage of the judgment that the plaintiff caused. For example, in both states, a defendant driver who is 70% at fault does not have to pay the 30% that the plaintiff driver contributed to the accident. In New York, even if the plaintiff is 80% at fault, he can still collect for the other 20% caused by the defendant driver. But, in New Jersey, once the plaintiff is more than 50% at fault, he collects nothing. So a plaintiff found just 51% at fault does not collect the other 49% -- he collects nothing - he loses the case. Close cases in New Jersey are thus more risky to the plaintiff. Fortunately, juries in New Jersey are told about this possibility in the jury charge.  

• Also, in the area of no-fault insurance, under a New York policy, an injured person typically has $50,000.00 of no-fault or P.I.P. benefits, and can buy an optional $50,000 in OBEL and $25,000 in APIP coverage. The carrier can have a lien against the plaintiff's recovery for that additional $75,000 in benefits.  In New Jersey, the standard policy provides $250,000.00 in no-fault benefits and there is no lien.  New York no fault provides higher lost wage benefits but New Jersey has higher medical limits.  More importantly, if your client is from New York and drives their car into New Jersey where the accident occurs, he or she is not stuck with the lower New York limits - - - they are entitled to the New Jersey policy limits, by operation of New York law as well as New Jersey's "Deemer Statute", which applies New Jersey law to the policy so long as the carrier does business in both states.   

These are but a few of the differences between the laws of New York and New Jersey. If you have any questions about a situation confronting you and how these laws apply, do not hesitate to contact us and discuss it with a Sullivan Papain lawyer in either the New York office at 212-732-900 or the New Jersey office at 201-342-0037. 

Keep in mind that under New Jersey law, you are entitled to a referral fee on cases you refer to us, without the need for any participation in the legal work because our New Jersey partner, Hugh Turk, has been designated by the New Jersey Supreme Court as a Certified Civil Trial Attorney.

by Frank V. Floriani

 

Lawyers need to stay informed about the impact technology can have on the types of cases we handle, specifically the use of social media such as Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and the like. Photos or discussions held on these sites can come back to haunt a client. Imagine a client testifies to one thing at deposition, such as being limited in his or her ability to engage in certain physical activities, only to be confronted by an astute defense lawyer who has found pictures posted on Facebook of the client on vacation, operating an ATV or doing or saying something at odds with their claim in the case. The same goes for Twitter accounts- if your client has tweeted, a defense lawyer can find it and print it out. And if you think that using a private form of posting or communicating on these sites will protect your client think again. If their public postings are at odds with what they are claiming in your lawsuit then it is likely a court will use that as a basis to go further and order the disclosure of the private information.

 

If by the time you are retained your client has already posted something that you don't like be careful. Don't advise him or her to remove anything already posted or you will find yourself at the wrong end of a motion seeking sanctions for spoliation of evidence.

 

One court ordered plaintiff's counsel to pay $522,000.00 for advising his client to alter his Facebook page by removing photographs and when the client followed his lawyer's advice he (the client) was fined $180,000.00 (the lawyer also found himself referred to the local ethics committee and prosecutor's office). Why such a large fine? It was a deadly combination of large law firms billing for motions, depositions and hearings and computer forensic experts billing for their investigation. Other sanctions have been issued by the courts for similar destruction of evidence.

 

 

When I meet a client one of the things I ask about is whether they have already posted photos or comments about their accident or tweeted about it. Of course, I counsel them to leave it, but I ask them to get copies for me. There are ways to "workshop" a comment or a photo to blunt its impact while at the same time preserving evidence.

by Elizabeth Montesano

When a client seeks your consultation about a possible case involving a failure to diagnose a heart attack for a loved one, did you know that men and women can have very different symptoms of a heart attack?  We all know about the common symptom of chest pain that radiates to the arms as a sign of a heart attack.  Surprisingly, however, fewer than 30% of women reported any chest pain or discomfort whatsoever prior to suffering a heart attack and 43% reported no chest pain at all during any phase of the attack.

Men Women Central Chest Pain or Pressure Pressure or pain in lower chest or upper abdomen   Arm Pain Unusual fatigue Shortness of Breath Sleep disturbance Sweating Lightheadedness/Dizziness Indigestion Weakness Jaw Pain or Headache Nausea/Vomiting

Because heart disease is the number one killer of women, recognizing the symptoms early and getting the right treatment can make the difference between life and death.  Doctors are trained to recognize the symptoms of a heart attack and order tests to rule out whether their patient is experiencing this life threatening emergency.  Tragically, malpractice can occur if the symptoms are not appreciated for what they are or overlooked entirely.  

SPBMC recently represented the family of a woman who went to the Emergency Department of a hospital in the Bronx who did not receive the proper diagnosis or medical treatment for a heart attack she was experiencing.  Despite telling the nurses and doctor that she was feeling chest pain when walking, shortness of breath, dizziness, nausea and vomiting, she was given an injection of strong pain medicine and sent home with a diagnosis of muscle sprain.  The following day, her condition worsened and she did not survive a cardiopulmonary arrest that occurred while she was at home.  

During trial, the case settled for $3,500,000.00 for the wrongful death and pain and suffering of this woman who was survived by four young children.

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