An aspiring entertainment writer won a $43 million verdict from a Brooklyn jury after his budding career was cut short when he fell from the roof of a luxury apartment building, the Daily News has learned.
Alexander Tirpack, 31, was interning for Rolling Stone magazine when he went to a party attended by the guitarist for the New York rock band Coheed and Cambria on Sept. 25, 2010, at 125 North 10th St. in Williamsburg.
At about 4:30 a.m., Tirpack needed to urinate, but the host told him he couldn’t use the bathroom in his apartment because his wife was asleep.
TEEN SERIOUSLY HURT AFTER FALL FROM MANHATTAN ROOF
Since there was no bathroom on the roof, he gave Tirpack an empty Gatorade bottle and told him to go to a more private spot and relieve himself.
Tirpack walked to the edge of the roof and climbed up on the 42-inch-high parapet, thinking in the darkness there was no gap between that building and one next door.
There was actually a 21/2-foot gap between the buildings.
He lost his balance and fell 70 feet. The impact shattered his spine, and left him in a wheelchair for life.
The six-member jury voted late Thursday in state Supreme Court to order the development company, 125 N. 10 LLC, to pay Tirpack $2.7 million for past damages, and $41 million for future damages.
“One of the jurors told him afterward ‘We can’t bring your body back but at least we can make your life a little better,’ “Tirpack’s lawyer Alan Shapey said. “The tipping point in this case was his will to survive.”
Tirpack spent part of Friday getting fitted for a new wheelchair at the Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation in West Orange, N.J.
“I try to stay positive with everything,” he told The News. “It’s still a daily struggle. This verdict and the hopeful settlement that comes from it will make things a little bit easier.”
He’ll have to wait awhile before seeing any money, though. The huge award will be appealed and could be reduced by a judge.
The case hinged on a 1968 city law which requires a 10-foot-high wire fence around the edge of any rooftop used for recreation.
The section where Tirpack fell did not have such a fence. After the accident, the building attached wooden 2-by-4s to the top of the parapet.
Another part of the roof had been carved into 24 private areas, known as cabanas, which were sold at $25,000 each to residents.
“Obviously, they didn’t put up the fence because it would have ruined the views, and no one would have bought the cabanas,” he said.
Defense lawyer John Lyddane argued that the blame was all on Tirpack, who had been drinking that night.
James Colgate, their expert witness and a former assistant commissioner with the city Buildings Department, testified there was a distinction between active recreation, like basketball, and passive recreation, like reading.
Shapey said the statute is “as clear as day.”
“There’s no wiggle room in the statute,” he said. “The city has a problem. They are letting non-compliant buildings be constructed. They have made this internal interpretation that’s not in the statute.”
Lawyer Elias Schwartz, who represents the building’s condo-owners association which was not held liable, said he was surprised at the size of the verdict.
“The injuries are tragic and the story is tragic, but there has be some level of personal responsibility,” he said. “He was an adult.”
Tirpack had been living in Park Slope, Brooklyn, at the time of the accident. He now resides in Sparta, N.J., with his brother.
“This injury affects every element of my life, so everything is very mapped out,” he said. “Something that takes you 10 minutes could take me an hour.”
