SALTZ, MONGELUZZI, BARRET
& BENDESKY, P.C.
FILING OF LEGAL NOTICE BEGINS
PROCESS OF SEEKING JUSTICE FOR BABY SISTERS FATALLY SCALDED IN DEC.
7, 2016 BRONX APARTMENT RADIATOR VALVE RUPTURE
Building owner-operator
Moshe Piller named among the negligent and
responsible
(New York - March 9, 2017) - The owner-operator of the Bronx
apartment building where sleeping baby sisters were fatally scalded
last December is among a group of potential defendants whose
actions were collectively responsible for the preventable deaths of
the one and two-year-old girls, according to the notice of claim
filed yesterday.
The claim notice, a precursor to the filing a wrongful death
lawsuit, names several responsible parties - and potential
defendants - including Moshe Piller, owner-operator of the building
at 720 Hunts Point Ave., along with the Bushwick Economic
Development Corp, the City and City's Department of Homeless
Services Danielle McGuire Ambrose and Peter Ambrose, parents of
Syclee, 1, and Ibanez Ambrose, 2, filed the claim along with the
executors of the estates of the sisters. Their legal team is led by
Robert J. Mongeluzzi, of Saltz, Mongeluzzi, Barrett & Bendesky,
PC, who will be joined on the case by attorneys Jordan Merson
(Merson Law, PLLC), and Chad Boonswang (Boonswang Law Firm,
LLC).
The sisters, who were both asleep when the valve ruptured,
releasing a torrent of steam into their tiny bedroom, "sustained
horrific and agonizing injuries which ultimately led to their
painful deaths", according to the filing. It notes that expert
testimony regarding the failure to properly maintain the building's
heating system, including the radiators, will be obtained
through pre-trial discovery. The notice was filed with the New York
City Comptroller's Office, as required by law.
Mr. Mongeluzzi stated, "Our initial investigation has determined
that this was a catastrophe waiting to happen - in a substandard
building with a checkered history of violations, and specifically
in that unit with the malfunctioning radiator. On behalf of the
family, and in memory of the Ambrose sisters, we will get to the
whole truth and hold all those responsible fully accountable." He
said the attorneys would assert claims for compensatory and
punitive damages when a complaint is filed.
In addition to being licensed to practice law in New York, Mr.
Mongeluzzi also practices in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
Philadelphia-based SMBB is one of America's leading personal injury
law firms. Among the firm's founders, Mr. Mongeluzzi's trial
practice exclusively represents victims injured or killed in
catastrophic incidents including but not limited to lethal
explosions at residential, industrial, and constructions sites,
collapses of buildings under construction or during demolition,
office tower crane and other types of heavy industrial equipment
failures, and railroad disasters - as the result of reckless,
negligent conduct by responsible parties and equipment
manufacturers. Mr. Mongeluzzi and Jeffrey P. Goodman just finished
a five-month jury trial - resulting in a record $227 million
settlement -resulting from the fatal Philadelphia Salvation Army
thrift store collapse, which killed seven people. Mr. Mongeluzzi is
a member of the plaintiffs' management committee in the fatal
Amtrak Train 188 Multidistrict Litigation, that was settled for a
record $265 million, and he was co-lead counsel in the largest
recovery ($101 million) of a construction accident case in American
history.
Mr. Mongeluzzi and his partners, Andrew R. Duffy and Mr.
Goodman also currently represent the plaintiffs in connection with
the July 4, 2012 sinking in Oyster Bay of the 34-foot yacht, the
Kandi Won, in which drowned three children drowned. Mr. Mongeluzzi
is a New York native and graduate of the Fordham University School
of Law.
Robert J. Mongeluzzi
rjmongeluzzi@smbb.com
215.575.2989
215.850.6571 (m)
S