Greitz v. Sivachenko

KAUFMAN, J.

This is an appeal from a judgment in favor of plaintiff in an action for personal injuries sustained by plaintiff while employed by defendant, the appellant herein. The jury rendered a verdict for damages in the sum of $9,500. Thereafter the court made an alternative order granting a new trial for insufficiency of the evidence to sustain the verdict unless plaintiff filed his consent to remission of said verdict in excess of $7,500. This consent was filed on March 14, 1955.

Respondent Alexander Greitz, a carpenter and painter, was employed by appellant Dmitri Sivachenko, to do certain repair work on an apartment building owned by appellant. He was engaged in repairing the back stairway between the second and third floors, when the stairs collapsed under the weight of a woman, Mrs. Meyer, the apartment house manager, who was attempting to ascend the third flight of stairs. Respondent sustained injuries to his back and ribs when the stairs fell upon him. Respondent helped her up. He then boarded up the gap in the stairs and went to see Mrs. Meyer. Both Mrs. Meyer and respondent had scratches and bruises, but did not immediately feel that they had been seriously injured. Later, it was discovered that each of them had two broken ribs.

Respondent was seen by his family doctor on the day of the accident who bandaged him and gave him some medicine. He stayed in bed for several days because of the pain in his chest and on October 5, 1953, was taken to St. Joseph’s Hospital where he was X-rayed, and it was learned that the fifth and sixth ribs were broken. Dr. Haldeman, an orthopedist, prescribed a back brace for the severe back pain which respondent was suffering. Because his .condition did not improve, he was hospitalized again in November, 1954, and treated with traction. Further examination by Dr. Haldeman

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in December revealed that respondent was suffering from a low back pain that was either the effect of the back strain occurring at the time of the accident, or a protrusion of the invertebral disc in the lower back. An accident such as that suffered by respondent could, according to the doctor, also have caused the gradual protrusion of the disc. This condition could be at least partially relieved by surgery. Recovery would probably not be complete in a patient of respondent’s age, and if such surgery were done, it was the doctor’s opinion that respondent would not be able to return to his former type of work.