By Tom Tracy
A Brooklyn bus driver who suffered a serious eye injury after being a hit by a wayward bungee cord is suing the manufacturer’s marketing company, claiming that no instructions or warning labels were printed on the packaging. In a suit filed on January 25, lawyers for Edwin Estien said their client bought a package of three bungee cords from National Wholesale Liquidators of West Hempstead back in the summer of 2004. National Wholesale Liquidators, his attorneys charge, had an “exclusive marketing agreement with” with Black and Sage, the makers of the bungee cords. When Estien bought the product, the bungee cords – three in all – were in a package with a label reading “Black and Sage” and nothing else. In September of that year, Estien was securing something with one end of the bungee cord when the other end, which had already been fastened, came free, snapped back and struck him in the left eye. As a result, Estein has “suffered permanent injuries to his left eye including a ruptured globe and intraocular hemorrhage, misshapen left orbit, a dislocated crystal lens and injuries to the supporting facial structure, all of which has caused him permanent loss of sight in that eye,” the lawsuit charges. “He [Estein] has been rendered totally disabled from his former occupation as a bus driver, causing him to sustain both past and future wage loss, as well as impairment in earning capacity.” The suit also charges that the bungee cords sold to Estien “were defective and unsafe in its design” and “lacked adequate safety instructions, recommendations or warnings.” The amount of financial compensation had not been determined when the suit was filed. A manager at National Wholesale Liquidators said he didn’t know anything about the lawsuit. A Brooklyn man arrested by cops from the 68th Precinct back in 2005 is suing the NYPD for handcuffing his arms behind his back, forcing him into a position that his lawyers claim led to a serious injury. Attorneys for Gonzalez, Oberlander & Holohan LLP said Sonny Martinez was taken into custody on December 9, 2005 on the Belt Parkway between the 65th Street exit and the Verrazano Bridge. While he didn’t seem to dispute the criminal charges filed against him, Martinez alleges that he told the cop who arrested him that he had he had a pre-existing condition to his left arm and explained that “any undue stress would re-injure the arm,” his attorney’s charge. Martinez claims that the cop didn’t acknowledge his request and cuffed his hands behind his back. When the officers took Gonzalez to the 68th Precinct for processing, he once again requested that his hands be cuffed in front of him instead of behind, because of his arm injury. The officers at the precinct allegedly told him that couldn’t help him and that handcuffing a prisoner behind his back was a “requirement,” the lawsuit states. Gonzalez made repeated requests, which were all unanswered, his attorney’s claim, adding that Gonzales also asked to see a doctor, but wasn’t brought to one until his paperwork was processed at Brooklyn Central Booking, which was completed 16 hours after his arrest. He was ultimately taken to a local hospital where he was diagnosed “with a severe injury to his left arm,” attorneys stated in their suit, which was dated on January 19. Gonzalez is suing for an undetermined amount of money. The NYPD does not comment on pending litigation. A Sheepshead Bay school is being sued by the family of a student who allegedly sustained serious injuries after slipping on a wet bathroom floor. In their suit – the compensation for which hasn’t been determined – the student’s mother claims that her son was enrolled at P.S. 52, 2675 East 29th Street on May 1, 2006 when he slipped on a wet floor in the second-floor bathroom. While the child’s exact injuries weren’t outlined in the suit filed on January 25, attorneys allege that the child was “severely injured and damaged, sustained severe nervous shock and mental anguish” and “great physical pain and emotional upset.” The injuries, lawyers claim, “are believed to be permanent in nature and duration.” The school, as well as the city’s Department of Education are being sued for negligence because they “permitted and/or allowed the floor of the bathroom to become and remain” slippery, wet and dangerous, the lawsuit states. The Department of Education does not comment on pending litigation.
