Drunken Man Paralyzed After Trip And Fall Down Stairs
At about 1 p.m. on Oct. 10, 2004, plaintiff Juan Santa Barbara, 33, a laborer, tripped on the threshold of the entryway of his home, which was located at 168 E. 140th St., in the Mott Haven section of the Bronx. He fell over a parapet wall, plummeted about 9 feet and landed on a stairway that led to the building’s cellar. He sustained a paralyzing injury.
Santa Barbara sued the building’s landlord, Migdol Realty Management, LLC. He alleged that the entryway constituted a dangerous condition.
Santa Barbara claimed that he tripped on a metal door saddle. His expert engineer contended that the saddle’s surface was elevated 1.25 inches above the surrounding floor. He opined that the differential created a hazard. The building’s manager acknowledged that the saddle could have snared a person’s foot.
Santa Barbara’s expert engineer also opined that the parapet wall’s low height did not sufficiently shield the opening that led to the stairway. He contended that the area was particularly hazardous.
The defense’s expert engineer contended that the saddle’s surface was elevated 0.5 inches above the surrounding floor. He claimed that relevant architectural standards allow such a differential, and he opined that the entryway did not constitute a hazard.
Defense counsel contended that the building’s landlord had not received any prior complaints that addressed the saddle, and he also claimed that the landlord had not received any indication that the saddle had caused any other accidents. Thus, defense counsel argued that the landlord did not have prior notice of the condition that caused Santa Barbara’s fall.
Defense counsel also contended that Santa Barbara’s fall was a result of impairment that was caused by intoxication. He noted that Santa Barbara admitted that his previous evening’s activity included the consumption of 15 servings of beer and 12 shots of liquor. Santa Barbara also admitted that his imbibing continued during the following morning, when he consumed three additional servings of beer.
The defense’s expert toxicologist noted that Santa Barbara was hospitalized during the immediate aftermath of the accident. He also noted that the hospital’s records indicated that Santa Barbara’s blood’s serum ethanol level measured 0.324. The expert extrapolated that finding, and he concluded that Santa Barbara’s fall occurred while his blood’s alcohol concentration measured about 0.28. Such a concentration is about 3.5 times greater than the concentration that would result in a New York motorist’s arrest. The expert concluded that Santa Barbara’s impaired condition greatly increased his susceptibility to an accident. However, Santa Barbara’s counsel argued that the expert’s conclusion was based on the impairment that a typical person would experience after having consumed the amount of alcohol that Santa Barbara had consumed. He suggested that Santa Barbara may have had a greater tolerance to alcohol, and he noted that Santa Barbara was able to in-line skate after he consumed the first of the three alcoholic beverages that he consumed during the morning of the accident.
Santa Barbara sustained a fracture of his spine’s C6-7 level. He was transported to the emergency room of St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital Center, in Manhattan, but doctors could not reverse the damage that was caused by his injury. As a result, Santa Barbara suffers permanent paraplegia. He also suffers incontinence. He is confined to a wheelchair, and he resides in a rehabilitation facility: Coler-Goldwater Specialty Hospital and Nursing Facility, on Roosevelt Island.
Santa Barbara sought recovery of his past and future medical expenses and damages for his past and future pain and suffering.
The jury found that Migdol Realty Management was liable for Santa Barbara’s fall, but Santa Barbara was assigned 30-percent comparative negligence. The jury determined that Santa Barbara’s damages totaled $24,162,000, but the comparative-negligence reduction produced a net recovery of $16,913,400.
Juan Santa Barbara
$912,000 Personal Injury: Past Medical Cost
$14,250,000 Personal Injury: Future Medical Cost
$4,000,000 Personal Injury: Past Pain And Suffering
$5,000,000 Personal Injury: Future Pain And Suffering