Schulman Blitz, LLP settled a case for a woman who was injured when she tripped and fell on a defect in the street that was emanating from a manhole cover owned by ConEd. Under the law, ConEd is responsible for maintaining the street within 12 inches of the manhole cover. Our client fractured her wrist and had surgery. We settled the case with the attorneys for ConEd shortly before the trial was scheduled to begin for $195,000. Contact Blitz Law Group LLP today.

Schulman Blitz, LLP settled a case for $45,000 for a man who was the victim of police brutality and excessive force. Our client was falsely arrested and during the course of the arrest, the NYPD arresting officer twisted our client’s pinky finger causing it to fracture. We sued the City of New York, the NYPD and the officers involved in the arrest. Following depositions, the case for $45,000. Contact Blitz Law Group LLP today.

Schulman Blitz, LLP settled a case for our client who works at an office building in midtown Manhattan. One day, while riding the elevator to the lobby during her lunch break, the elevator began to shake violently causing our client to sustain injuries to her back and knee. At a mediation shortly before the trial was about to begin, Schulman Blitz, LLP settled the case for $300,000. Contact Blitz Law Group LLP today.

Case Report Negligence Towing dolly too big for van, plaintiff alleged Verdict: (P) $250,000.00 Case Type: Negligent Assembly or Installation, Motor Vehicle – Passenger, Motor Vehicle – Single Vehicle Case Name: Jorge Gomez v. Barn Trailer Service, Inc, Victor H. Martinez and Vilma Z. Martinez, No. 25202/06 Venue: Queens Supreme, NY Judge: Martin E. Ritholtz Date: 10-28-2011 Plaintiff(s): Attorney(s): Justin M. Blitz; Schulman Blitz, LLP; New York, NY, for Jorge Gomez Expert(s): Donald Phillips; Accident Analysis; Hawthorne, NJ called by: Justin Blitz Defendant(s): Attorney(s): Lawrence Inniss; Mendolia & Stenz; Westbury, NY, for Victor H. Martinez, Vilma Z. Martinez Michael P. Ross; Martin Fallon & Mulle; Mineola, NY, for Barn Trailer Service Inc. Expert(s): Jeffrey Lange PE; Forensic Engineering; Deer Park, NY called by: Lawrence Inniss, Michael Ross Insurers: Government Employees Insurance Co. for Victor Martinez and Vilma Martinez AutoOne Insurance for Barn Trailer Service Facts: On April 29, 2006, plaintiff Jorge Gomez, 61, a retiree, was a passenger of a van that was being driven by Victor Martinez, who was traveling on Route 78, in New Jersey. Martinez’s vehicle was towing a dolly that was supporting a car. Martinez lost control of the van, and the van struck a road divider and rolled. Gomez sustained injuries of an ankle, a knee, his torso and a wrist. Gomez sued Martinez; the van’s owner, Vilma Martinez; and the dolly’s owner, Barn Trailer Service Inc. Gomez alleged that Victor Martinez was negligent in the operation of his vehicle, that Vilma Martinez was vicariously liable for Victor Martinez’s actions, that Barn Trailer Service negligently failed to provide a dolly that adequately supported the towed vehicle and that Barn Trailer Services negligently failed to provide adequate instructions regarding the dolly’s use. Gomez’s counsel contended that Barn Trailer Service should have attached a heavier dolly to tow the second vehicle. Gomez claimed that Barn Trailer Service failed to warn or give proper instructions as to the use and safety of the dolly. Gomez’s accident-reconstruction expert opined that Barn Trailer Service failed to follow the safety requirement that the vehicle pulling the dolly must weigh at least 1,000 pounds more than the dolly and vehicle combination that is being towed. He contended that there were other dollies that would have been in compliance with the weight requirement. Victor Martinez contended that he was not negligent in the operation of the van and that the accident was the result of improper equipment that was too heavy and therefore caused him to lose control of the vehicle. Barn Trailer Service’s counsel contended that Martinez’s actions caused the accident. He also argued that Gomez’s counsel was unable to prove that the dolly was the proximate cause of the accident. Barn Trailer Service’s accident-reconstruction expert opined that Gomez’s expert’s theory was not accurate. He further opined that the accident could have resulted from a potential problem with the van’s transmission or an improper placement of the towed vehicle. Injury: The trial was bifurcated. Damages were not before the court. Gomez, who had a prosthetic left leg, was ejected through the back window of the van and thrown some 15 feet. He sustained lacerations and burns of 5 percent of his body, consistent with road rash injuries. He also sustained an avulsion fracture of his right ankle; a comminuted fracture of the head of his right leg’s fibula, which forms a lower portion of the knee; a fracture of the ulnar styloid in his left, nondominant arm’s wrist; and a tear of his right knee’s meniscus. Gomez was transported by helicopter to Morristown Medical Center, in Morristown, N.J., where he underwent closed reduction and the application of a cast that covered his right leg. He remained in the hospital for nine days, and he was subsequently transferred to a rehabilitation center, where he remained for 27 days. On Aug. 10, 2006, he underwent an arthroscopic meniscectomy. He continued physical therapy through the time of trial, treating about once a week. Gomez contended that he suffers pain and limitation in his right leg, and he claimed that he cannot easily walk. He sought recovery of damages for his past and future pain and suffering. Verdict Information: The jury rendered a mixed verdict. It found that Barn Trailer Service was entirely liable for the accident, and the remaining defendants were not assigned liability. Prior to the scheduled start of the trial’s damages phase, Barn Trailer Service’s insurer agreed to tender its policy, which provided $250,000 of coverage. Contact Blitz Law Group LLP today.

I was asked me to share my experience volunteering in Staten Island today. Please get out and help, my words cannot even begin to describe what is happening in our backyard to our fellow New Yorkers. This morning I woke up and I loaded up my car with supplies, and along with two friends of mine, we drove to Staten Island to help out with the recovery effort. We had no traffic on this beautiful Sunday morning, and maybe we have the gas crisis to thank for that. My neighborhood in downtown NYC had no power for five days and looked like a ghost town, but today, and as it has been since the power was restored, it was like nothing ever happened. I have to admit my time in Staten Island has really only been to attend court appearances at the main Courthouse and at the satellite version and other than that I have spent no time in the borough. That also was true for my two friends, but both of them had only been to the borough to run in the NYC Marathon, which ironically was supposed to be held today as we all know. Both of them noticed as we crossed the Verrazano bridge that it was on this bridge the marathon begins and there normally would have been thousands of people running on the bridge towards NYC, and we were driving into what we would later describe as a “war zone.” Our destination was a public school, that a local Staten Islander and a fellow attorney, told me was a station for volunteers. As we began our drive down Father Cappodanno Boulevard, the utter destruction this storm produced became apparent. The first clue of this was seen as soon as we got into the town – there was an incredible amount of what was now garbage, and what was a week before peoples possessions, on the street waiting for garbage trucks that clearly had not gotten there yet. Peoples lives were on the curb, ending up in waterlogged trash. I saw stoves, refrigerators, baby clothes, baby toys, furniture, you name it, all of that all of which had that distinctive stinky moldy muddy smell and look to it. As we drove further into what I guess one would call the heart of where the devastation took place, we found ourselves unable to follow the GPS directions on the streets that our navigation wanted us to go through. Debris was everywhere, wood, glass and nails all over the street adding a further concern of having a tire popped from all the garbage on the street. And considering I only had less than a quarter of a tank of gas in my car, I did not want to have any car issues. It is hard to put into words what we saw next. Schools have become recovery stations and shelters, random streets becoming free bazaars of clothes, water and whatever their neighbors might need. People on the street trying to clean up as much as their property as they can. I couldn’t help wondering where FEMA was with a hundred garbage trucks and debris removers. These people are living amongst their water logged possessions in heaps of trash in front of their houses and driveways. And this thought was after I saw the huge make-shift landfill that the Sanitation Dept has started on the beach. House after house with green inspections stickers indicating they had been inspected and were okay to return, and then there were the ones that were not so lucky. My friends and I had brought in my trunk a bag of my son’s old clothes, jackets, scarfs, hats, water, cleaning supplies, and women’s clothes. We initially parked at a middle school and began walking up aimlessly to people asking if they needed help or clothes. We were told by the woman in charge of the school recovery effort that garbage bags were in short supply and she immediately took the ones that we had. I gave my son’s old clothes to a pregnant woman who had come to the school to gather supplies. I gave my old winter jackets to a Mexican woman who was walking with a young son. The people in charge were doing their best to separate the amount of clothing and supplies that people had donated and were trying to separate the clothes amongst men, women and children items. We asked how we could help and we were told that we could help separate clothes in different piles. We felt we can put our manpower to better use. We helped carry supplies to the cars of woman who had come to stock up for the week. We continued walking down the block stopping people and asking if they needed any of our supplies and if we could help in any way. We decided to get back in the car and head back to a larger recovery stationery that we had seen on our drive in. Driving past what were once nice neighborhoods, we saw total destruction, we saw what seemed like an endless line for gas, and we made it to what was clearly, a much larger and more organized recovery effort. We spent the rest of the day unloading supplies from cars, loading cars up with supplies, separating supplies, loading up New York City buses that were going to different neighborhoods and doing whatever else was asked of us. We helped load an entire New York City bus with water, ready to heat meals, cleaning products, socks, dry ice and everything else one needs to survive. The spirit that I saw from the volunteers was just amazing. I saw cars come from all over the country to drop off supplies, I unloaded a u-haul full of supplies that had been driven down from Cape Cod, and unloaded another truck that had come from Wyoming. The effort was well organized and it was being run entirely by locals and volunteers. We finally loaded up my SUV with as many supplies as we could and attempted to take them to where we were told to bring them. We couldn’t make it there and ended up going to different mini recovery area stations and distributing what the people in charge said they needed most. We did this until the car was empty and then we headed home. My end thoughts are that these people are really in need. If you have a car, and have enough gas, you should load it up with supplies and head to Staten Island this week. There is seemingly a lesser need for clothes than there is a dire need for water, cleaning supplies, garbage bags, bleach, batteries, canned goods, and toiletries. I implore you to talk to your friends and neighbors and gather that stuff and get out there. Head down Father Capodanno Boulevard and you will see a huge recovery area on your left. If you get to Midland Avenue you went too far. You won’t need to look far to find people in need. I hate to say it, but it clearly seems to me that this is a forgotten area. I saw very few FEMA, and very few Red Cross. I did see a lot of New Yorkers just trying to lend a hand to their fellow neighbors in need. Contact Blitz Law Group today.

ALM Properties, Inc. Page printed from: New York Law Journal Solos, Small Firms Face Unique Challenges in the Aftermath of Hurricane Sandy Andrew Keshner New York Law Journal 11-06-2012 Hurricane Sandy was tough on many firms, but it was especially hard on solo practitioners and small firms lacking support services. As they tried to get back to business last week, solos and small firms were confronted with problems like inaccessible case files, the inability to make it to court and some impatient clients and adversaries. “As a solo practitioner, we’re handicapped to begin with,” said Ruth Bernstein, who has practiced law by herself for the past 18 years, juggling about 75 cases at any one time. Solos, she continued, operate “without a net” and are “up against big defense firms. We rely on our smarts and our guts and ability to work hard and our dedication and devotion to what we do. Any handicap on top of the ones we’re already laboring under, it can tip the balance very easily.” Without power, heat or running water at her Long Beach home as of Nov.2, Bernstein still considered herself “blessed” after she lost her cars but her home was not flooded. She was not able to make it into her Manhattan offices last week, though her paralegal make it in twice to field calls and check voice messages. “I really haven’t dealt with anything except survival and trying to help my neighbors,” she said. “I’m really just placing my faith in [the Office of Court Administration] and individual judges who might be presiding over my cases to grant me appropriate adjournments so I can have a fighting chance to represent my clients.” Jill Zuccardy, a solo practitioner handling family law cases, could not get to the case files in her lower Manhattan office building last week and spent her days at her Brooklyn residence “just hovering over email all day.” While other slowly got back to work, Zuccardy, for instance, had to repeatedly impress on an adversary on Nov.1 that she was not capable of traveling to White Plains to work on an agreement with an impending deadline-let alone the fact she could not het her hands on the court file. Then on Nov. 2, she said, she had to explain to Queens Family Court clerk several times why she could not send a fax when they insisted they could accept no other communication. Only after “getting emotional,” Zuccardy finally got through to the court part that arranged an adjournment. By Nov. 4, power came back on at her office and Zuccardy worked a full day. She noticed many attorneys appeared to be doing the same, based on the multiple email replies she received. “I think the worst thing about last week was the helplessness,” she said yesterday, noting how she was now attempting to prioritize as clients contacted her asking if she could work on their case now that she was back at her office. Dawn Cardi, an attorney with a small Manhattan firm consisting of herself and four associates, agreed that patience last week appeared to wear thin in some quarters. Cardi could not get her case files after the power went out in her Midtown East building. Nevertheless, she said she encountered a lack of understanding from some court clerks outside Manhattan when she tried to explain her inability to move forward. The response was not “unkind,” she recalled, but the clerks still notes other attorneys were managing to make it to court. “There can’t be business as usual in the court system for now,” Cardi said. In Nassau County, solo criminal defense attorney William Kephart said that yesterday-the first day his Garden City offices had power restored-a major task was checking the status of the more than 20 cases he had calendared for last week. Kephart noted that the shortage of gasoline would be a “huge issue” in the near future for attorneys in suburban areas, whose work usually requires car travel. Kephart planned to reschedule a matter in Riverhead, some 60 miles away. “I’m going to be asking the court for an adjournment so I don’t have to burn that gas,” he said. Justin Blitz, of three-attorney Schulman Blitz in Manhattan, said that small firms and solos operate on slim margins, making lost court days particularly costly. “I don’t make money sitting in an office, I make money in court,” he said, observing that he did not have other attorneys to whom he could pass trials he was prevented from handling by the storm. Blitz’s own Midtown West offices lost power during the storm. As a result, he could only get a case file for an important upcoming deposition after the neighboring building’s superintendent let him-wearing a headlight-get to his office through an emergency door. Nevertheless, Blitz spent Nov.4 volunteering on Staten Island, where he saw “lives ruined.” He said the experience “put in perspective” how what happened to him was “a slight, minor irritation.” @| Andrew Keshner can be contacted at akeshner@aim.com To view the article click here. Copyright 2012. ALM Media Properties, LLC. All rights reserved. New York Law Journal article Contact Blitz Law Group today.

Schulman Blitz, LLP represented the family of a young man who was skateboarding in the Bronx when he was stuck and killed by a car. We settled the case for $100,000, the full amount of available insurance. Contact Blitz Law Group today.

Click here to read Schulman Blitz, LLP’s winter 2012 newsletter. Contact Blitz Law Group LLP today.

Our client was crossing a street in Queens when she was struck by a mini-bus which was making a left turn. The mini-bus driver was talking on his cell phone at the time that he crashed into our client. As a result of the impact, our client sustained an injury to her knee which required surgery. At a mediation shortly before the trial was scheduled to begin, Justin Blitz, Esq., settled the case for $150,000. Contact Blitz Law Group LLP today.

Schulman Blitz, LLP settled a case for our client, a taxi driver who was stuck by a car which was going the wrong way on a highway exit ramp. As a result of the accident, our client sustained injuries to his hands and wrists, as well as a traumatic brain injury. Stephanie A. Mastrocola, Esq. settled the case for $100,000, which was the full policy limits of the defendant’s insurance, shortly after the lawsuit was started. Contact Blitz Law Group LLP today.

Our client was the victim of police brutality, excessive force, false arrest and malicious prosecution. Her civil rights were violated when she was at her home in the Bronx and the police mistakenly entered her apartment even though they were there to execute a warrant on a different apartment in the building. They pushed, shoved and kicked our client and arrested her under false pretenses. The police maliciously prosecuted her for over two years before they dropped all of the charges. Our client sustained physical and emotional injuries as a result of being brutalized by the police. Justin Blitz, Esq. settled the case for $250,000 shortly before the trial was scheduled to begin. Contact Blitz Law Group LLP today for help.

On May 27, 2013, New York City will begin its bike share program which will be called “Citi Bike”. There are a number of issues to be considered for all New Yorkers who will participate in this program. Being a life long New Yorker, born and raised in Manhattan, I have been riding a bicycle in Manhattan since I was a young child and it is something that I continue to do today. As an attorney and a partner at Schulman Blitz, LLP, a New York City based personal injury law firm, I have handled many cases involving bicycle accidents throughout my career.   My law firm handles these cases from the very beginning – when the accident first occurs – through successful settlements and trials. It is without question that riding a bike in New York City is a very dangerous thing to do.  I have handled countless lawsuits involving bicyclists and motorists, bicyclists and other bicyclists, bicyclists and pedestrians, and bicyclists and street defects, and I have seen many of our bicyclist clients sustain very bad injuries from these accidents. The City of New York has recently added bike lanes to some of our streets, especially in Manhattan.  However, there are many, many streets, specifically cross-town streets, which do not have any bike lanes. Drivers of vehicles in New York need to be more wary of bicyclists as there are about to be many more bicyclists on the streets due to the bike share program.  Motor vehicles pose tremendous dangers to bicyclists.  Drivers of motor vehicles need to learn how to share the streets with bicyclists. There are many hazards which bicyclists will face as they are riding throughout the city.  The streets of New York are filled with countless potholes, cracks, defects, sunken streets, broken street hardware and manhole covers that bicyclists have to be concerned about when cycling.  These defective street conditions are extremely perilous for bicyclists. Schulman Blitz, LLP has brought many lawsuits against the City of New York on behalf of our clients who have been severely injured due to the streets and roadways being maintained in a negligent manner. Curiously, the company that is in charge of the program, Alta Bicycle Share, Inc., has been required by the City to carry only $10 million in general liability coverage for every year the program operates.  It seems to me that the amount of required insurance is disturbingly low given the number of street defects, traps, downed street signs and other hazards that pose dangers to city cyclists.  One must also take into account the potential for City liability from City owned vehicles, such as garbage trucks, street sweepers and emergency vehicles that could collide with cyclists causing severe injuries.  Schulman Blitz, LLP has also encountered several cases where bicyclists are injured in areas where City officials were working and left behind construction debris and other hazardous material that caused injury to our clients. In general, bicycling is healthy, fun and could lead to less traffic on our congested streets.  However, I have seen the devastation that occurs when drivers of vehicles do not respect bicycle riders and bicyclists do not watch out for pedestrians.  Another concern that I have with the program is that tourists are not familiar with our streets, and not familiar with traffic patterns, particularly in downtown Manhattan.  This unfamiliarity could lead to increased danger for bike riders and motorists. If you do choose to ride, be safe, be smart, wear a helmet and ride cautiously.  And if unfortunately you are involved in an accident and are injured, give us a call and we will let you know what your rights are. Contact Blitz Law Group LLP today for help.