In a Middlesex County wrongful death suit, Estate of Crosby v. Berkeley Redevelopers, the estate of an equipment mechanic who died while working on demolition of a strip mall received payment of a $2.5 million settlement on Aug. 7.

Raymond Crosby died on Sept. 24, 2015, while working at the site of the vacant Beachwood Shopping Plaza in Berkeley Township. Crosby, an employee of Edgewood Properties, was sent to the site to repair a piece of equipment to assist with demolition of a former Woolworth store on the property, although he had no experience with demolition, the suit claimed. Crosby was cutting notches into steel support columns in the store when the roof collapsed, killing him.

Berkeley Redevelopers, an entity created for the Beachwood project, was designated by Berkeley Township as redeveloper of the site. It hired E.P. Equipment to do the demolition work at the site. Those companies and Edgewood Properties were under common ownership, said James Maggs, who represented the estate along with John McDermott. Both are with Maggs & McDermott in Wall.

The suit said Berkeley Redevelopers and E.P. Equipment failed to have the Woolworth building evaluated by a demolition engineer to assess stability of the building and to properly plan the demolition. The floor in the Woolworth building was believed to be in danger of collapsing, but instead of bringing in equipment that could demolish the building from outside, they sent in a worker with no prior demolition experience or training, Maggs said. That plan was formulated by Kylem Spence, the demolition foreman, and Frank Sellinger, superintendent for the project, Maggs said.

Crosby suffered fractured ribs in the collapse, as well as blunt trauma to the head and a thoraxic injury, Maggs said. Experts for the plaintiff said he likely perceived the building collapsing for two to three seconds, and tried to exit but was hit by a metal joist on the left side of his face. He then likely suffered another seven to ten seconds of pain and suffering, the plaintiff experts contended. Defense experts opined that Crosby died instantly, according to Maggs. The defense also said that Crosby disregarded instructions on which columns he was supposed to cut, Maggs said.

The defendants were cited by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration for numerous violations in connection with the accident, Maggs said.

The settlement was reached on May 24, following mediation with retired Superior Court Judge Mark Epstein of Hoagland Longo Moran Dunst & Doukas in New Brunswick. Berkeley Redevelopers, E.P. Equipment, Sellinger and Spence were party to the settlement.

Lisa Slotkin of Zarwin, Baum, DeVito, Kaplan, Schaer & Toddy in Philadelphia, who represented Berkeley Redevelopers and E.P. Equipment, didn't return a call about the case. Neither did Andrew Ullrich of the Ullrich Law Firm in South Plainfield, who represented Sellinger and Spence.

— Charles Toutant

$1.1M Bergen Auto Verdict

Urmaza v. Borough of Elmwood Park: A Bergen County jury returned a $1.15 million verdict Aug. 13 in a suit by a man who suffered spinal injuries in a collision with a police officer.

Mark Urmaza, now 34, was driving his Nissan Pathfinder on July 20, 2015 at the intersection of Lyncrest Avenue and Willow Street in Elmwood Park when an Elmwood Park police officer, Ryan Nichols, ran a stop sign and struck his vehicle on the driver's side. Urmaza's vehicle flipped onto its roof, leaving him hanging by his seat belt, said his lawyer, Brent Bramnick of Bramnick, Rodriguez, Grabas, Arnold & Mangan in Scotch Plains.

Urmaza sustained a disc herniation with radiculopathy at L4-L5, and underwent physical therapy and a lumbar epidural injection, the suit claimed.

According to Bramnick, an orthopedic surgeon who served as expert witness for the plaintiff opined at trial that Urmaza's injuries were permanent, and that he would need spinal surgery in the future. Another orthopedic surgeon, an expert for the defense, testified that the plaintiff suffered only temporary strains and sprains. And a defense neurologist disputed the plaintiff's claim that he suffered permanent neurological impairment. In addition, defense experts said Urmaza's herniation was the result of age-related degeneration, rather than trauma, and pointed to his failure to complete his pain management treatment and his decision to voluntarily end his physical therapy as indications that the injuries were not permanent—a threshold requirement to bring a suit against a public entity.

Urmaza, a nurse, returned to work after recovering from the crash but had to less physically demanding work in medical administration, he claimed.

After a four-day trial before Judge Charles Powers in Bergen County Superior Court, the jury awarded Urmaza $750,000 for pain and suffering, $23,785 for past medical expenses, and $375,000 in future medical expenses, Bramnick said,

Elmwood Park and Nichols were represented by Daniel Pomeroy of Pomeroy, Heller & Ley in New Providence, who didn't return a call about the case.

— Charles Toutant