In a case featured in the New York Law Journal, Miniero v. City of New York, Bronx County Supreme Court Justice Victor allowed several New York City Police Officers to proceed to trial after the City of New York made an application to dismiss their hearing loss case. The Police Officers suffered various degrees of hearing loss after the City provided these Officers with inadequate and defective headsets while these officers attempted to qualify at the range.
In Ferriolo v. City of New York, New York Supreme Court Justice Rakower allowed a New York City Police Officer to proceed to trial against the City of New York after he was accidentally shot by a fellow member of the service while changing in the station house locker room. The City claimed that the victim of the shooting was barred from suing his employer, the City of New York because the act of changing in the locker room is inherently dangerous, and, accordingly, lawsuits of this nature would be barred by the firefighter's rule. DCD claimed that the act of changing in a station house locker room is not a risk inherent in police work, and the officer who discharged his firearm acted recklessly in its handling.
In Cerati v. Berrios, Queens Supreme Court Justice Dollard allowed a New York City Police Officer to proceed to trial against a motorist who indirectly caused a chain of events which led to the officer being struck by a second vehicle. In this case, the officer, while securing the scene of a fatal one car accident, was struck by an oncoming vehicle. DCD sued the driver who caused the fatal one car accident claiming that pursuant to GML § 205-e, the initial accident was reasonably connected to the subsequent accident making the first motorist responsible for the second accident. The motorist who caused the one-car fatal accident pled guilty to vehicular homicide, thus creating the necessary statutory predicate for a lawsuit pursuant to GML § 205-e.
