Worby, Vecchio, Edelman LLP

A 34-year-old construction worker who was left paralyzed by a fall at a Yorktown work site two years ago has laid claim to a $4.7 million settlement. A 34-year-old construction worker who was left paralyzed by a fall at a Yorktown work site two years ago has laid claim to a $4.7 million settlement. Palemon Mendez of White Plains has been living alone, without the benefit of workers compensation, in a situation his lawyer called commonplace for local immigrant workers. The plaintiff will finally be able to provide daily care for himself and pay for the future medical treatment so desperately needed and previously denied to him, said his attorney, David E. Worby. Worby said immigrant workers, like his client, often find themselves without protection afforded other American workers. This area has had an influx of Hispanic immigrants, and sometimes they have to struggle to be treated as citizens, he said. Mendez was working on an elevated platform at the Canterbury

The mother of a 14-year-old Greenburgh girl who was crushed to death by her school bus last month broke down and wept yesterday as lawyers announced a $30 million lawsuit against the bus company and bus driver.

A former student of Five Towns College in Dix Hills has been awarded $480,000 from the college after a Westchester jury found the college liable for an injury she received while living in off-campus housing. The jury also awarded Jennifer Frank $1.1 million from the hotel, the Woodbury Ramada Inn. But Frank settled her claim against the hotel before the jury reached its verdict June 2, and will receive a lesser amount. The lawsuit began in 1995 when Frank, a pianist from Ryebrook in Westchester County, severed a wrist nerve, an artery, and some muscle on a broken window at the hotel. Five Towns, a music college, does not house students on campus and recommends they live at area hotels. A self-taught musician who could not afford lessons, Frank learned to play the piano from friends.Before her accident, Frank dreamed of becoming a singer and songwriter. According to her lawyer, Howard Frederick, the injury made that impossible. It took away her passion, her dream, he said

Car phone companies believe you can drive and talk at the same time. But a lawsuit filed in New York recently would hold them responsible for what drivers do behind the wheel. New technologies can improve our lives. But when a new product however beneficial it may be has the side effect of placing lives in danger, then the manufacturer must take responsibility for protecting consumers. And that is why I have just filed a case in state Supreme Court in Manhattan against Motorola, the largest manufacturer of mobile phones in America, for $35 million. Cellular phones can be useful, but some studies have indicated that there may be thousands of automobile accidents each year because people use these phones while they drive. The manufacturers of car phones have the resources and the technology to prevent many of these accidents and they have a legal and moral responsibility to do so. I represent Ronald Silber s family, who were seriously injured almost two years ago when ano

City admits no liability despite $500,000 verdict NEW ROCHELLE The city is asking a federal judge in White Plains to set aside a $5000,000 jury verdict in favor of a police officer who fell and hurt her back at the station house in 1998. U.S. District Court Judge Charles Brieant last week heard arguments on the city s motion to set aside the verdict, which was reached after a three-day trial in early June. It is the city s position that it has no liability here, said Peter Meisels, the lawyer who was hired by the city to pursue the motion, and if that fails, an appeal. Susan Ryan was a rookie officer in July 1998 when she slipped and fell in a puddle of water in a locker room at the station house, herniating two discs in her back. She sued, claiming the puddle was an ongoing problem. Ryan s lawyer asked for $325,000 for pain and suffering. After deliberating for 2 hours and 45 minutes, the jury awarded her $500,000. Both sides agreed it is a large damage award. Ry