Kenneth Halperin and Bryce Moses, attorneys at Wingate, Russotti, Shapiro, Moses & Halperin, LLP, obtained a settlement in the amount of $1,250,000 for a 35-year-old man who was struck by a piece of wood that fell off the roof of a low-rise building. The accident occurred while the plaintiff was walking down the street in Manhattan. Repairs on a water tower on the sixth floor of a building were taking place when a small piece of wood being used by workers fell off the side of the building and struck the plaintiff on the side of his head.
The plaintiff was treated at the hospital and released with a diagnosis of a mild concussion. Thereafter, the plaintiff’s symptoms began to worsen, and he developed symptoms consistent with a mild traumatic brain injury. The defendant’s neuropsychologist performed extensive testing of the plaintiff and concluded he was malingering. Another witness who knew the plaintiff also testified he was malingering. Finally, social media photographs showed that after the accident, the plaintiff was going to outings, events with friends, and traveling. The defendants used this to try and damage the plaintiff’s credibility.
Ken and Bryce rebutted the defendant’s claims with medical evidence establishing the plaintiff was not malingering, and contended the photographs merely showed the plaintiff was attempting to maintain some normalcy in his life, considering a mild traumatic brain injury sometimes does allow a person to function. Among other things, the injury slowed down the plaintiff’s processing speeds and disrupted his short-term memory, but did not render him incapable of performing daily activities. It merely made them more difficult and time-consuming.
As a result of the accident, the plaintiff underwent sporadic psychological therapy, which the plaintiff did not feel was effective.