Nathalie C. Hackett and Jamie N. Burke Attain Summary Judgment in Personal Injury Claim

New York Partners Nathalie C. Hackett and Jamie N. Burke secured a favorable verdict in a personal injury case in which the plaintiff, a sanitation worker, claimed our clients were responsible for injuries he sustained on their property. The plaintiff was in the process of using the lift on his rear-loading garbage truck to empty a dumpster in our client’s parking lot when an object became wedged between the truck and the dumpster, causing the dumpster to remain suspended in the air. The plaintiff attempted to dislodge the impediment by climbing onto the rear of the truck and fell to the ground, shattering his right arm. His injuries required multiple surgeries and extensive time off from work. 

Ms. Hackett and Ms. Burke filed a Motion for Summary Judgment, arguing that our clients owed no duty to the plaintiff as he was not employed by our clients but rather by an independent contractor, and because he was injured from an open and obvious hazard associated with the type of work he was performing. The Court agreed and dismissed all claims and cross-claims against our client with prejudice before the scheduled trial.

Nathalie C. Hackett is a member of the Construction Law, Insurance Coverage / Bad Faith, Premises Liability, Product Liability, Professional Liability, and Subrogation and Recovery teams. She has extensive experience in personal injury defense, and her superior legal skills and pragmatic litigation approach have resulted in numerous successful resolutions and seven-figure recoveries through judgment, ADR, and settlement negotiations. 

Jamie N. Burke is a member of the Insurance Coverage / Bad Faith team. She has a long track record of successfully representing insurance underwriters, mortgage loan servicers, and other financial institutions in commercial, consumer, real estate, and insurance coverage matters. Before joining Manning Kass, Ms. Burke served as Vice President and in-house counsel of a Fortune 500 insurance company. She also worked as a commercial litigation attorney at multiple mid-sized law firms in New York, representing clients in state and federal courts, in practice areas including complex commercial real estate and business disputes, debtor-creditor law, and bankruptcy.