$850K Settlement For Hempstead Man Who Had Sewer Grate Dropped On Hand

The town of Hempstead approved payment of a settlement agreement for litigation against the town at its Dec. 9 meeting, ending the legal proceedings for a Hempstead resident who claimed his hand had been severely damaged after a town employee dropped a sewer grate on it in September of 2020.

The suit was filed by Hempstead resident Brian Duhart with a March 5, 2021 complaint. In that complaint, Duhart claimed that he had dropped his phone through a sewer grate in front of 241 Sylvan Dr. on Sept. 9, 2020, at which point the town dispatched an employee to help him retrieve his phone. The complaint reads that the town employee, Shabazz Lopez, lifted the sewer grate off its basin and told Duhart to reach into the basin to get his phone. As he was reaching, the complaint reads, the sewer grate dropped on Duhart’s hand, causing “severe shock to his nervous system,” Duhart’s complaint reads.

In a March 19, 2021 response to Duhart’s claim, the town denied any negligence, claiming that any injuries Duhart suffered were the result of “culpable conduct and/or contributory negligence” of his own. Furthermore, the town argued in that document that Duhart’s injuries were the result of his own assumption of risk.

“It’s an unfortunate situation,” one town official said at the meeting. “An individual suffered a significant — in his 30s — hand injury, and after two or three years of conferences in court, discussions with the plaintiff’s attorney and the judge, despite the fact that he had a significant, never-ending disfigurement of his hand, we were able to settle this for $850,000.”

The resolution authorizing the settlement's financing states that the payment will be funded through the issuance of $850,000 in serial bonds. The resolutions authorizing both the settlement agreement and its financing were approved as part of the administrative calendar, which included items 12-87 on the board's agenda. Item number 54 in that agenda, a resolution establishing continuing education requirements for Town of Hempstead officials, was amended to include the town attorney and chief deputy town attorney. Item number 62 on the agenda, authorizing the re-adoption of the town's procurement policy, was tabled.

The town attorney's office did not respond to a request for comment Friday.