Sangirardi v. State, 1

• Decision Date: 13 June 1994
• Docket Number: No. 1,No. 2,1,2
• Citation: 613 N.Y.S.2d 224,205 A.D.2d 603
• Parties: Marie SANGIRARDI, etc., Appellant, v. The STATE of New York, Respondent. (Matter). In the Matter of Lenora PILKO, etc., Appellant, v. The STATE of New York, Respondent. (Matter).
• Court: New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division

Page 224

613 N.Y.S.2d 224

205 A.D.2d 603

Marie SANGIRARDI, etc., Appellant, v. The STATE of New York, Respondent. (Matter No. 1).

In the Matter of Lenora PILKO, etc., Appellant, v. The STATE of New York, Respondent. (Matter No. 2).

Supreme Court, Appellate Division Second Department.

June 13, 1994.

Shayne, Dachs, Stanisci, Corker & Sauer, Mineola (Jonathan A. Dachs, of counsel), for appellants.

G. Oliver Koppell, Atty. Gen., New York City (Peter H. Schiff and Michael S. Buskus, of counsel), for respondent.

Before O'BRIEN, J.P., and SANTUCCI, ALTMAN and KRAUSMAN, JJ.

MEMORANDUM BY THE COURT.

In two claims to recover damages for personal injuries and wrongful death, which were joined for trial, the claimants appeal from two judgments of the Court of Claims (Weisberg, J.), both dated May 4, 1993, which, after a nonjury trial on the issue of liability, are in favor of the State of New York and against the claimants, dismissing their respective claims.

ORDERED that the judgments are affirmed, with costs.

The instant claims arise out of a motor vehicle accident on the Grand Central Parkway on June 20, 1983. The decedent, Michael Sangirardi, was driving his vehicle on the westbound side of the highway, with decedent Frank Pilko riding as a passenger, when a car from the center eastbound lane swerved out of control and vaulted the median barrier, shearing off the top of Sangirardi's vehicle and killing both Sangirardi and Pilko. The claimants allege that the accident was caused by the existence of an eight-and-one-half-inch curb approximately two feet from the median guardrail, which, allegedly, caused the eastbound vehicle to vault over the guardrail. Following a nonjury trial on the issue of liability, the Court of Claims found that the failure of the State to remove or lower the curb was not the proximate cause of the accident. We affirm.

The Court of Claims properly credited the unrebutted testimony of the State's expert, which indicated that because of the high speed and angle of the eastbound vehicle as it swerved out of control, the guardrail would not have prevented the eastbound vehicle from crossing over into the westbound traffic even if the curb had been lowered or removed (see, Selkowitz v. County of Nassau, 45 N.Y.2d 97, 408 N.Y.S.2d 10, 379 N.E.2d 1140; see also, Desnoes v. State of New York, 100 A.D.2d 712, 474 N.Y.S.2d 602). On the other hand, the claimants failed to offer sufficient evidence to show that the alleged deficiencies in the design of the median guardrail and curb were a substantial factor in causing the deaths of the vehicle's occupants (see, Gutelle v. City of New York, 55 N.Y.2d 794, 447 N.Y.S.2d 422, 432 N.E.2d 124).

Furthermore, the Court of Claims correctly concluded that the State could not be held liable for its failure to remove or lower the median curb, even if such reconstruction could have prevented the accident. The Court of Claims properly took judicial...