Largest Reported NJ Personal Injury Settlement during the Court’s 2022-2023 term

Postal Carrier Slips and Falls on Icy Driveway—$1,000,000 Settlement

In Flushing, New York, a postal carrier was injured after she slipped and fell on an icy driveway. She hired Davis, Saperstein & Salomon, P.C. partner Marc C. Saperstein to file a personal injury lawsuit against the property owner. Attorney Marc C. Saperstein proved that the property owner was negligent in his failure to ameliorate the icy condition and settled for the policy limit of $1,000,000.

The woman completed her postal route on Bayside Avenue and was returning to her car when she slipped and fell; she slipped on ice that had accumulated on the sidewalk of a driveway. The ice hadn’t been shoveled, and the sidewalk hadn’t been salted. Partner Marc C. Saperstein retained a forensic meteorologist to examine the weather conditions on the day of and the days surrounding the accident. The meteorologist found that, on the day that our client slipped, there would have been about six inches of ice cover on outdoor surfaces left exposed and untreated. The untreated ice created a dangerous environment for our client, the tenants, and other passersby.

The client’s fall caused injuries to her left leg and back. She sustained a tibial leg shaft fracture and a posterior malleolus ankle fracture, which she treated with a tibial shaft intramedullary nail fixation and an ankle posterior malleolus open reduction internal fixation. She also underwent a lumbar sympathetic nerve block to treat her lower back pain and lumbar radiculopathy. When the nerve block was unsuccessful, she continued with medication management and physical therapy.

The firm hired medical experts to write reports proving that the postal carrier had suffered permanent injuries that justified financial compensation. Lawyer Marc C. Saperstein also retained an economics expert to determine the economic damages suffered by our client. The expert found that, because of her medical bills and inability to work, she had suffered a loss of income of several hundred thousand dollars.

While the owner leased the property to a 501(c)(3) organization to serve as their office, it was the owner’s legal responsibility to create a safe environment for passersby. So, partner Marc C. Saperstein filed a lawsuit against the property owner in the New York Supreme Court for not mitigating the icy condition. He ensured that the firm’s client received proper compensation for her pain and suffering, in the form of a $1,000,000 settlement.

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Medical Glossary

Tibial Shaft Fracture: A fracture of the tibia, located below the knee and above the ankle.

Tibial Shaft Intramedullary Nail Fixation: Involves the placement of a permanent nail in
the center of the tibia, in order to fixate the pieces of the bone.

Posterior Malleolus Ankle Fracture: A fracture of the posterior segment of the tibial
plafond, or the distal end of the tibia.

Posterior Malleolus Open Reduction Internal Fixation: A surgery involving creating an
incision in the ankle and inserting screws to fixate broken bone fragments together.

Lumbar Radiculopathy: Pain that runs down the lower back via the sciatic nerve.

Lumbar Sympathetic Nerve Block: An injection of medication into the lumbar spine,
aiming to relieve lower back pain.