On April 21, 2016, Pennsylvania Superior Court affirmed the trial court's grant of a non-suit in Austin v. Woodward Properties, that followed a trial by Charles Stokes in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The plaintiff claimed that she stepped on a partially-eaten slice of pizza on a greasy piece of wax paper that caused her to fall down the steps of an apartment building owned and managed by the defendants. The plaintiff allegedly suffered a traumatic brain injury and a knee injury that required total knee replacement surgery. She also claimed future medical and life care expenses in excess of $1.5 million. At the conclusion of the plaintiff’s proof, Mr. Stokes moved for a compulsory non-suit
On April 18, 2016, Florina Altshiler’s article, entitled “A Look at Elder Law in New York” was published in the Buffalo Law Journal. Ms. Altshiler’s article discusses the current state of the laws in New York that provide legal protection for the elderly against financial abuse, nursing home abuse and neglect, and the legislation pending in Albany to address the issues.
On April 18, 2016, David Gould won a defense verdict in Supreme Court, Suffolk County in Elasser v. Sulilvan, Index No. 63546/2014. The plaintiff, a 51-year-old female, was driving to a gardening store when her pick-up truck was hit in the rear by the defendant’s vehicle. The force of the impact shattered the rear glass inside the cab of the plaintiff’s pick-up truck and also tore the rear cargo door off of its hinges. The plaintiff received emergency care and was diagnosed with a herniated disc in her neck and disc bulges in her back. She had been involved in a motor vehicle accident two years earlier that caused back pain and received a financial settlement from the prior case. Mr. Gou
On April 5, 2016, Stephen Toner won a defense verdict on liability in Supreme Court, Kings County in the case of Mashni v. Faye, Index No. 22226/2010. The plaintiff claimed that his limousine was parked and “t-boned” by the defendant’s taxi. The plaintiff alleged that he sustained herniated discs in his neck and back, and that he ultimately underwent a lumbar spinal fusion surgery with insertion of rods and screw into his lumbar spine. Mr. Toner argued that defendant was free from negligence because of the “Emergency Doctrine;” i.e. the collision occurred because the taxi changed lanes to avoid an unidentified mystery car that had swerved into its lane. Unfortunately, the defendant driv
On April 7, 2016, David Gould won a defense verdict in Supreme Court, Suffolk County in Choudary v. Gunn, Index No. 11802/2013. The plaintiff, who had previously undergone a cervical fusion surgery, claimed that an accident that occurred on December 17, 2012 exacerbated her neck pain such that she could no longer drive or garden. Mr. Gould successfully argued that the accident was a minor and her vehicle sustained virtually no damage, and did not exacerbate her pre-existing injuries. The jury deliberated for only 15 minutes before returning a verdict for the defendant that the accident was not a substantial factor in causing her injuries.
On March 10, 2016, Florina Altshiler presented a continuing legal education program entitled “The CSI Effect: Explaining Forensic Evidence to Defeat Jurors’ Inflated Expectations” at the Erie Institute of Law in Buffalo, New York. Ms. Altshiler spoke on the topics of crime scene investigation, forensic evidence, and strategies for jury selection with particular focus on the science of DNA, latent prints and modern technology.
