$375,000

By Frank C. Bartlett Jr.

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Last Modified on Jun 18, 2026

Resident injured after falling through a faulty fire escape at a 60 unit apartment complex in East Haven. Mr. Kirk Trofatter broke his kneecap, upper leg, and left shoulder. The defense argued that Mr. Trofatter shouldn’t have been on the fire escape, but during the property owner’s deposition by Attorney Bartlett, the owner said he inspected the stairs weekly and knew the stairs were rusted. Bartlett also found there had been two previous injuries on other stairs located at this complex but the owners only repaired those specific stairs rather than all the defective stairs. The building owner’s insurance company refused to settle for higher than $150,000. Judge Jonathan Silbert, after hearing the owner knew of the defect and had similar incidents felt that the suit was worth $375,000, at which point both sides settled.

This case appeared in the Connecticut Law Tribune 02/09/18 Man Injured by Collapse of Rusted Steps Reaches $375K Settlement