Trial Magazine
Verdicts & Settlements: Premises Liability
Dangerous condition in apartment parking lot
April 2021Donna Castrianni, who was in her 60s, slipped and fell on snow and ice in the parking lot of her apartment building. She suffered herniated disks at L3-4 and L4-5, which necessitated surgery. She also was diagnosed as having a traumatic brain injury, which has resulted in headaches, memory loss, and blurry vision.
Castrianni sued Quail Heights Partnership, the property’s owner, alleging it negligently allowed a dangerous condition of public property to exist on its premises. The plaintiff asserted that snow accumulated days before the incident, melted, and refroze, creating a dangerous condition. Suit did not claim lost income.
The defense argued that it properly addressed the lot’s snow and ice.
The parties settled for $750,000.
Citation: Castrianni v. Quail Heights P’ship, No. BER-L-008116-18 (N.J. Super. Ct. Bergen Cty. July 17, 2020).
Plaintiff counsel: AAJ member Kevin Kruse, River Edge, N.J.
Plaintiff experts: Mary Ann Kezmarsky, neuropsychology, Ho-Ho-Kus, N.J.; Chris James, landscaping, Waldwick, N.J.; Thomas Else, weather, Hackettstown, N.J.; and Grigory Goldberg, orthopedics, Freehold, N.J.
Defense experts: J. Mervyn Lloyd, orthopedics, Westwood, N.J.; David Behnken, engineering, Edison, N.J.; and James Charles, neurology, North Bergen, N.J.
