antiquity
12-07-2002, 07:58 AM
$6.5 Million Is Awarded for Campground Injury
By John Caher
New York Law Journal
A Court of Claims judge has awarded over $6.5 million on behalf of a boy who suffered a spinal cord injury when a rotted tree at a state campground tumbled onto a camper.
Presiding Judge Susan Phillips Read said the high award is necessary to cover the future medical needs of Joseph A. Gugliotta and to compensate the youth for what is likely to be several decades of pain and suffering.
The award in Gugliotta v. State, 96538, came nearly three years after another Court of Claims judge found the state fully liable for the July 15, 1995, accident even though the state did not have actual knowledge of the dangerous condition.
Now-retired Judge James P. King predicated the state's liability on constructive knowledge. Judge King found the state's "duty to remove hazardous trees in high use areas on state owned land is somewhat more circumscribed than the duty imposed on an adjoining landowner whose tree or portion of a tree falls on his neighbor's property or person."
He also held that the state's potential liability in falling tree cases was not limited to those matters where there is a readily observable defect. Rather, Judge King said the state is responsible even when there are "subtle indications of tree decay."
For the Gugliotta family, that added up to more than $6.5 million, including $2.2 million for future home services and $1 million for future pain and suffering.
Records show that Joseph Gugliotta was an active and athletic 5-year-old when he went camping with his family at North/South Lake Camp Ground in Haines Falls, Greene County.
On a stormy morning, the boy and his brother were sleeping in a pop-up camper when a large Canadian Hemlock fell on the unit. Joseph suffered a spinal injury. Now, he can walk only with braces or crutches, often uses a wheelchair and requires diapers and a catheter. Joseph plays wheelchair basketball and takes part in other activities, but is unable to enjoy life to the fullest.
"[H]e will require lifelong medical surveillance and prophylactic care for the management of his condition and the prevention of complications, as well as equipment and services and accommodations to allow him to live an independent and productive life," Judge Read wrote.
Robert George Bombara of Garden City appeared for the Gugliotta family. Assistant Attorney General Michael Friedman argued for the state.
Date Received: December 06, 2002 Â*
http://www6.law.com/lawcom/displayid.cfm?statename=NY&docnum=170112&table=news&flag=full
By John Caher
New York Law Journal
A Court of Claims judge has awarded over $6.5 million on behalf of a boy who suffered a spinal cord injury when a rotted tree at a state campground tumbled onto a camper.
Presiding Judge Susan Phillips Read said the high award is necessary to cover the future medical needs of Joseph A. Gugliotta and to compensate the youth for what is likely to be several decades of pain and suffering.
The award in Gugliotta v. State, 96538, came nearly three years after another Court of Claims judge found the state fully liable for the July 15, 1995, accident even though the state did not have actual knowledge of the dangerous condition.
Now-retired Judge James P. King predicated the state's liability on constructive knowledge. Judge King found the state's "duty to remove hazardous trees in high use areas on state owned land is somewhat more circumscribed than the duty imposed on an adjoining landowner whose tree or portion of a tree falls on his neighbor's property or person."
He also held that the state's potential liability in falling tree cases was not limited to those matters where there is a readily observable defect. Rather, Judge King said the state is responsible even when there are "subtle indications of tree decay."
For the Gugliotta family, that added up to more than $6.5 million, including $2.2 million for future home services and $1 million for future pain and suffering.
Records show that Joseph Gugliotta was an active and athletic 5-year-old when he went camping with his family at North/South Lake Camp Ground in Haines Falls, Greene County.
On a stormy morning, the boy and his brother were sleeping in a pop-up camper when a large Canadian Hemlock fell on the unit. Joseph suffered a spinal injury. Now, he can walk only with braces or crutches, often uses a wheelchair and requires diapers and a catheter. Joseph plays wheelchair basketball and takes part in other activities, but is unable to enjoy life to the fullest.
"[H]e will require lifelong medical surveillance and prophylactic care for the management of his condition and the prevention of complications, as well as equipment and services and accommodations to allow him to live an independent and productive life," Judge Read wrote.
Robert George Bombara of Garden City appeared for the Gugliotta family. Assistant Attorney General Michael Friedman argued for the state.
Date Received: December 06, 2002 Â*
http://www6.law.com/lawcom/displayid.cfm?statename=NY&docnum=170112&table=news&flag=full