Sparta Township exonerated

Sparta - A Sussex County jury decided last week that Sparta Township was not responsible for injuries claimed to have been sustained by Franklin resident, John Taylor in a fall on township property. As a result, Mr. Taylor will receive no compensation. David H. Dumbroff, a partner in the Sparta law firm of O’Donnell & Dumbroff teamed up with Peter King, a Lake Hiawatha attorney and Sparta resident to defendant Sparta township in the lawsuit. Dumbroff is a personal injury lawyer and King represents the Joint Insurance Fund, a group of municipalities that pool their resources for self-insurance. The plaintiff was represented by the New York law firm of Seeger & Weiss. The case was heard in Newton.. Taylor alleged he herniated a disc in his neck which necessitated neck surgery when he fell on the handicapped ramp at the Sparta Health Department on Aug. 1, 2003. He said the left railing on the ramp “snapped like a twig” when he grabbed it on his way into the building. He claims many disabilities as a result of the fall. During the trial, Dumbroff questioned Taylor about his prior medical conditions as well as a fall he suffered at the Franklin Building five months before his fall in Sparta. Dumbroff said he subpoenaed Taylor’s medical records and discovered, contrary to the plaintiff’s contention, that he had suffered neck problems prior to the fall. He presented as a witness a former doctor of Taylor’s. Dumbroff conceded the jury found the Sparta ramp was faulty, but found that was not the cause of Taylor’s surgery and disabilities. Taylor initially asked for $12 million, but dropped the amount to $750,000. . Ironically, the ramp was removed shortly after Taylor’s fall to accommodate trucks entering the construction site for the new municipal building, Dumbroff said.