Personal Injury Lawyers in New York

A woman and her husband were recently awarded $1.2 million for injuries she suffered when she was struck by a vehicle in a Pennsylvania parking garage. The couple, Debra and Mark Macko, filed suit back in 1998 against Sam J. Tramontana, Wilkes-Barre General Hospital, its corporate owner Wyoming Valley Health Care System, and Sordoni Construction Services.

In April 1996, Mrs. Macko was walking in the hospital's parking garage toward a hospital entrance when she was struck by an out-of-control vehicle driven by Tamontana. She was with her 18-month-old daughter at the time. The woman was pinned against another vehicle and suffered a leg injury that resulted in permanent damage. Since the accident, she has undergone four surgeries including plastic surgery and skin grafts. The Mackos argued that the plan for pedestrian traffic in the hospital's parking garage was negligently designed; another part of the garage was under construction at the time of the accident.

Though Mr. Tamontana died in 1998 at the age of 76, the suit continued, and his estate admitted negligence. On Friday, June 29, 2007, a jury ruled the hospital was also negligent in the case and ruled that Sordoni Construction Services was not negligent. The jury found the driver of the car to be 85% negligent and the hospital to be 15% negligent.

Mrs. Macko was awarded damages for medical bills (past and future), pain and suffering, embarrassment and humiliation, loss of enjoyment of life, and disfigurement.

If you or a loved one has been injured or killed in an unsafe building in New York City, Long Island—including Nassau and Suffolk counties, please contact the Unsafe Building Law Offices of Silberstein, Awad & Miklos.