North Hempstead OKs $140,000 settlement for slip and fall at town dock

The Town of North Hempstead authorized a $140,000 legal settlement to a Port Washington man who alleged he slipped and fell on a "dangerous" gangway by the town's dock overlooking Manhasset Bay.

Port Washington resident Michael Ford fell on the gangway on the morning of Sept. 7, 2019, according to the lawsuit, which was filed in Nassau state Supreme Court in November 2020. Ford was walking "cautiously and carefully" on the gangway from the town dock in Port Washington to board a water taxi off a floating dock, said Brian Thomas McCarthy, Ford's Lake Success-based attorney, in a court filing.

The town failed to maintain the gangway to the "southern most floating dock," which was being operated by the Port Washington Water Taxi, McCarthy said in the 2020 complaint. The anti-slip traction on the gangway had “completely worn away," resulting in "bare wood with substantial wear," McCarthy said.

The gangway surface was “so excessively worn that it created an unreasonably and unnecessarily dangerous and slippery condition,” according to the lawsuit. There was no sign by the gangway where Ford fell warning the public to use handrails and that the gangway is "slippery when wet," McCarthy wrote. The town had installed a warning sign near another gangway, according to the lawsuit.

Lawyers for the Town of North Hempstead denied the allegations in court papers.

In a December 2020 court filing, lawyers for the town said that any injuries or damages "were caused solely, and contributed to by culpable, negligence, and carelessness of the plaintiff."

McCarthy declined to comment. Matt Meyran, owner of the Port Washington Water Taxi, said in a phone call he was unfamiliar with the litigation. The company is not a party to the lawsuit.

McCarthy said in the original filing that North Hempstead was "aware that several pedestrians had tripped and fell on the southern most floating dock prior to Sept. 7, 2019 as the unsafe condition of this gangway had caused several individuals, other than the Plaintiff, to fall on the gangway."

Attorneys for the town denied that allegation in a subsequent court filing.

Town spokesman Umberto Mignardi declined to comment on the lawsuit.

Ford said he endured significant pain and an injury to his right knee as a result of the fall, according to the lawsuit. He suffered a periprosthetic fracture of his right knee, which had been replaced before the fall. He also tore his right meniscus, according to the court filing. He left the dock by ambulance to St. Francis Hospital in Flower Hill.

Asked if the town had made improvements to the gangway since the lawsuit was filed, Mignardi said in an email: "The non slip traction material is inspected and replaced regularly, at least annually depending on its condition. It is scheduled to be replaced in the coming week for the summer season. Additionally, our town carpenters are currently replacing all the wood on the floating dock." The wood replacement work is about halfway done, Mignardi said.

The town authorized $285,000 in improvements to the town dock as part of its 2025 capital plan, including renovation of the bathroom facilities and upgrades to the observation deck's floors and railing.

By Joshua Needelman

joshua.needelman@newsday.com

Joshua Needelman covers the Town of North Hempstead for Newsday. A Long Island native and University of Maryland graduate, his work has appeared in publications including The New York Times and The Washington Post.