Negligence case stemming from courthouse fall survives city’s appeal

The Appellate Court, First Department paved the path to trial for a case against the city filed by the family of an inmate who died after falling down the stairs in Manhattan criminal court.

Ridelin Solis blames the city for the death of her father, Apolinar Solis, who died reportedly from brain swelling and a blood clot after falling down the stairs of Manhattan criminal court. He was in custody at the time, being transported from a courtroom to a holding area.

Before taking him to court, city Department of Corrections staff took away Apolinar Solis’ cane, which he needed because he had recently had surgery on a diabetic ulcer on the bottom of his foot and was limping in a soft cast.

That caused him to lose his balance and fall, Ridelin Solis alleges in her 2015 negligence suit against the DOC.

In a Dec. 2 ruling, the Appellate Court, First Department affirmed the trial court’s rejection of the city’s motion for summary judgment.

Her lawyer, Gene R. Berardelli of the Law Office of Gerald P. Gross, declined to say how much Solis was asking for in damages because of ongoing negotiations. The case is next scheduled for a settlement conference in mid-February before Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Adam Silvera.

“From there it could go to trial or there may be a different outcome. But we’re prepared for trial,” Berardelli said.

The city and its co-defendant, Corzon Health Inc., a health care provider at Rikers, had appealed Manhattan Supreme Court’s order dismissing their request to let a judge decide the case without a trial.

Underpinning the city’s motion was Apolinar Solis’ transfer between state and city custody while appearing in court.

Daniel Magrino, an officer with the state Office of Court Administration, testified that he was escorting Apolinar Solis at the time of his fall, and that when he got him from the court room to take him to the holding pen, he didn’t have a cane. The city argued that Apolinar Solis was not in DOC’s custody at the time of the accident and that there is no testimony or record evidence establishing that DOC deprived the inmate of his cane.

Judge Kingo responded to this argument in the Dec. 2 court decision, writing that “merely pointing to gaps in an opponent’s evidence” is not enough to show that they should win their case.

“On the contrary, the deputy warden’s testimony establishes that the [Solis’] cane would have been taken from him by DOC while he was on the bus and each time he was placed in a holding cell,” Kingo wrote. “On this record, defendants failed to establish that after arriving at [Manhattan Detention Complex] or after he was taken out of the “12-4” holding cell, the decedent’s cane was returned to him.”

A spokesperson for the New York City Law Department said the agency was reviewing the court’s decision.