Kilmartin applauds decision that R.I. not liable in Cliff Walk fall

PROVIDENCE – The Supreme Court has upheld a judgment that said the state of Rhode Island is not liable for injuries a New York man received when visiting Newport’s Cliff Walk, a decision Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin applauded.
The Supreme Court on Monday affirmed an earlier Superior Court judgment in favor of the state of Rhode Island in the personal injury case of Simcha Berman v. Laura Sitrin, et al.

“I am very pleased that the Supreme Court affirmed the Superior Court’s judgment that the State of Rhode Island was not negligent in the case of Simcha Berman,” Kilmartin said in a statement. “While Mr. Berman’s injuries are extremely unfortunate, as the decision rightly affirmed, those injuries were not the result of negligence on the part of the State. As this long and complex case draws to a close with the denial of motions for a new trial, I commend the thorough and conscientious work of Assistant Attorneys General James Lee and Brenda Baum in successfully defending the state.”

The plaintiffs were seeking damages in excess of $30 million against the state related to the injury Berman suffered in 2000 when visiting Cliff Walk. In the April 2011 trial, a Superior Court jury found that the plaintiff had not proven that the state of Rhode Island was negligent in its responsibilities regarding Cliff Walk.
Berman became paralyzed from the neck down when he fell onto the rocks there during his honeymoon. He was 23 at the time. He became a quadriplegic after the ground gave way beneath him as he headed down a dirt footpath leading from the paved Cliff Walk to the ocean below.

Cliff Walk runs 3.5 miles and attracts “hundreds of thousands of visitors” annually, Discover Newport spokeswoman Andrea McHugh has said.

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