[Download] "Casmir Zalewski v. State New York" by Supreme Court of New York # eBook PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: Casmir Zalewski v. State New York
- Author : Supreme Court of New York
- Release Date : January 17, 1976
- Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 61 KB
Description
[53 A.D.2d 781 Page 781] Cross-appeals from a judgment, entered December 10, 1974, upon a decision of the Court of Claims. The instant appeal is one of five claims which arose out of an automobile accident on the Crescent Bridge in Halfmoon, New York, on July 2, 1969. The car in which the deceased, Wanda Zalewski, was a passenger collided with a truck, mounted the curb and came in contact with the bridge railing, and, after shearing off five bridge posts, plunged into the Mohawk River. The bridge railing was constructed with three-rail aluminum bridge railing supported by posts made of cast aluminum alloy and bolted to the bridge. Although the State's witness testified that the bridge was constructed in conformity with good engineering practices, when it was completed in 1960, there was testimony, and the State conceded, that cast aluminum alloy bridge posts were extremely brittle and that discontinuous rails would not absorb and distribute impact. Exhibits in the record indicate that the State recognized the problem of that type of bridge railing no later than 1966. The court found the location to be hazardous and found the speed of the car to have been reasonable. The court held that the placing of the guardrails in question on the bridge constituted active negligence which was a proximate cause of the car's falling into the river. The court also held that the State's subsequent failure to replace these dangerous instrumentalities constituted actionable negligence and further found that the State failed to reduce the risk by warning of the potential hazard or by reducing the speed limit. The deceased passenger was found to be free from contributory negligence and the court made an award of $65,000 for wrongful death. The court, however, dismissed the claim for conscious pain and suffering for lack of proof. The State appeals from the judgment for wrongful death, and the plaintiff cross-appeals on the grounds of inadequacy and on the dismissal of the claim for conscious pain and suffering for lack of proof. The State is obligated to provide barriers of sufficient strength to hold an automobile traveling at a [53 A.D.2d 781 Page 782]