SKETCHES OF COURT: Unified trip-and-fall trial resolved in $200K settlement
In this courtroom sketch, Hon. Edgar Walker listens as plaintiff’s attorney Bret Myerson (standing), of the law firm Harmon Linder & Rogowsky, questions his witness in the unified trip-and-fall trial Montesdeoca v. City of New York. Andrea Kinloch, of the Big Apple Pothole and Sidewalk Protection Committee, is on the stand.
In May 2013 Benigno Montesdeoca was out late on a Friday night, celebrating a coworker’s last day. Montesdeoca testified that after a few hours’ recuperative sleep, he was walking to meet his brother for an early lift back to his job. Montesdeoca had intended to catch up on a backlog of office work in his capacity overseeing stock transactions.
Montesdeoca alleged that when he stepped onto the curb after crossing the intersection of Graham and Johnson Avenues at about 5 a.m. Saturday, his right foot wedged itself into a deep unfilled area between the metal edge of the curb and the abutting sidewalk. Montesdeoca lost his balance and toppled over, but his right foot failed to move with him and essentially snapped at the ankle.
Brooklyn Boro
View MoreNew York City’s most populous borough, Brooklyn, is home to nearly 2.6 million residents. If Brooklyn were an independent city it would be the fourth largest city in the United States. While Brooklyn has become the epitome of ‘cool and hip’ in recent years, for those that were born here, raised families here and improved communities over the years, Brooklyn has never been ‘uncool’.