Seymour Gutin while driving north on the East River drive in Manhattan with his wife had their windows open. It was a dry day that is why they had it down. After passing the 95th street, he notices pieces of concrete came in through his open window and one of them hit his eye. Near the 96th street intersection was the time he realized that he was bleeding. He hurriedly drove to the 116th street, which was the nearest exit and asked a policeman for help. It was found out by a reporter, that the police officer drove Mr. and Mrs. Gutin to the hospital where they removed his eye because of the extent of the damage.
The car was examined by the police, and they found four pieces of broken concrete. A suit was filed against Frank Mascali & Sons, Inc. They are the company that was incharge of the construction of an overpass between East 92nd Street and East 99th Street along the East River Drive. Checking on the contract, a Lawyer said that they were paid to make sure of the safety in the highways with respect to the construction and maintaining the traffic. There was a power house that was in that location which was part of their contract to demolish and use any product that can be used as filling for the road. Some of the by-products needed to be broken to smaller pieces before they can use it.
A Queens policeman assigned to the corner where the crane was used to break the concrete to smaller pieces testified that they utilized the ball to pound on the concrete to break it. A witness mentioned that the officer could cite a similar incident two weeks before what happened to Mr. Gutin because he had it recorded. He said he had warned the operating of the crane and some supervisors about the method. In the examination Frank Mascali & Sons, Inc.’s construction engineer confirmed the use of the ball to get the product they needed. He was not presented in the trial. In the trial, the concrete pieces found in Mr. Gutin’s car were also entered into evidence. The defense presented a receipt to counter the allegations. The receipt said that the delivery was delayed because the crane was not working. There were three signatories in the receipt but not one of them was the one who wrote that the delay was due to the malfunction of the crane. The crane operator signed a statement that he was operating the crane on the day of Mr. Gutin’s accident and noticed a blue car, the color of Mr. Gutin’s car near the intersection. The operator though says he can barely recall it. He testified though that he wouldn’t sign the document unless he was sure.
During the trial, the court has learned about progress report books that were kept by the company. The construction engineer, Sheldon Richmond, said there were. Edward Ryan an engineer, not licensed, speaking for the defense said he has not seen any progress report books. A subpoena for the books was served to Frank Mascali & Sons, Inc. to produce them. There was no denial from them that the books existed, but they also did not produce them. The court found that the Mr. Gutin was severely prejudiced because the subpoena for the books was not responded to so they granted a new trial to the plaintiff. The defendant of course contested this saying it is not for the court to prevent a jury to decide. The court has shown what their interest is in setting a new trial is evidence presented to the jury, which if incomplete will not have a just result.
Accidents really happen when you least expect it. There are some accidents though that could have been avoided, and this is what New York Car Accident Lawyers make sure that get the just proceedings and compensation. If you have to have your day in court to get it, then they will go through it with you.
We at Stephen Bilkis & Associates have Car Accident Lawyers who are ready to fight for your case no matter how long it will take. They do not just stand looking if a miscarriage of justice is happening. If you get any injury because of the carelessness of others, walk in any of our offices in New York or call us at 1-800 NY – NY- LAW, and we will assist you in any case in New York or Long Island.