As a puppy lawyer, I was asked to try a case on behalf of a nurse who fell while descending a staircase at the old Roosevelt Avenue subway station in Jackson Heights Queens.
In preparing for the trial, I learned valuable information from an engineering expert about how our brain works when we are walking up or down steps.
Essentially, he explained that after we take the first couple of steps, our brain will automatically learn and record the distance we need to extend our foot in order to reach the next step.
Each subsequent step should be almost precisely the same distance away.
If not, a tripping hazard is created when the height of one step is not uniform with the height of the others that have just been recorded by our brain.
Note: The defective step in this video was a mere 1/2″ higher than the other steps. If you cannot see the video above, you can try refreshing your page or it is also available here.
In the case I was trying, the stairway was significantly worn out after many years of neglect by the MTA.
As a result, when our nurse was descending the staircase on her way to the platform, she was caused to trip and fell down approximately 15 steps.
Unfortunately, she suffered a serious trauma to her head.
The MTA refused to take responsibility and denied any liability up to the time of trial.
Therefore, we were forced to try the case before the jury.
A fascinating (and frustrating) thing happened when I explained this information about how our brain works to the Judge during a pretrial conference.
Upon hearing of our proposed expert’s testimony, the Judge felt that my engineer’s opinion was totally “speculative” and prevented the expert from testifying about how the human brain makes these calculations and anticipates the steps to all be a uniform distance away.
While I felt the Judge was dead wrong, I had no choice but to accept his ruling.
As fate would have it, justice ultimately prevailed because when the defendant’s engineering expert testified, he admitted during cross examination that everything the Judge prohibited my expert from saying was 100% true and accurate!
The jury then got to hear these admissions for the first time out of the mouth of the defendant’s own expert witness.
As a result, we ended up with a nice victory on behalf of the injured nurse.
I was reminded of this case after seeing a video that went viral recently about a similar defect on another subway staircase.
The video above shows how a small height differential of a single step can cause people to trip.
Fortunately, no one appears to have been injured during the taping of that video.
However, there is one particularly scary portion where a man is carrying his baby up the steps and trips forward.
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Founder Anthony T. DiPietro, Esq. is a compassionate and skilled trial attorney who has completely dedicated the past 23 years of his career to litigating medical malpractice and sexual abuse cases against major corporate institutions including hospitals, medical clinics, schools, and other wrongdoers.
Mr. DiPietro has also obtained some of New York State’s highest verdicts and settlements, and has been selected to New York State Super Lawyers® each year, for the past 10 years in a row.
In 2022, Mr. DiPietro was selected as one of America’s Top 100 High-Stakes Litigators for the landmark cases he’s won on behalf of survivors of sexual exploitation and abuse.
Here, at The DiPietro Law Firm, we’re committed to helping victims of sexual abuse and assault find the justice they deserve.
All information discussed during our consultations always remains completely 100% confidential.
Would you like our help?
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Years of Abuse: 1987 – 2016
Brief:
Robert Hadden, a disgraced Obstetrician-Gynecologist (OB/GYN) who worked for Columbia University and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, was criminally convicted in 2016 of sexually exploiting and abusing patients under the guise of medical care.
Hadden used his position of authority and trust to sexually exploit women and girls for nearly three decades as a Columbia University physician.
All the while, Columbia University and New York-Presbyterian Hospital administrators turned their backs and ignored reports of Hadden’s abuse, gaslighting patients and the public.
Read More:
Years of Abuse: 1979 – 2022
Brief:
David H. Broadbent is a former OB/GYN under criminal investigation and facing civil lawsuits for sexual abuse of patients.
Broadent worked at multiple medical facilities in the Provo, Orem and Salt Lake City, UT areas.
These facilities included Intermountain Healthcare’s Utah Valley Hospital, MountainStar Healthcare’s Timpanogos Hospital, other Utah health care providers, and he also had adverse action taken against his medical license back in 1990.
Read More:
Years of Abuse: 1990 – 2016
Read More: University of Southern California & Predator George Tyndall
Years of Abuse: 1961 – 1996
Brief:
22 predator teachers and administrators, over the course of 35 years.
Years of Abuse: 1960 – 1982
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