A superior court judge who fell on the steps of the Norfolk County Courthouse in 2004 is suing the state and county for not improving the condition of the stairs before the accident.
Judge Paul Chernoff, who currently presides in Middlesex Superior Court in Lowell, alleges in the suit that cracks in the steps of the venerable High Street court building, which in June 2004 did not have handrails, caused him to trip and break his left kneecap.
The lawsuit, initially filed last summer in Middlesex Superior Court and amended at the end of October, says the state Division of Capital Asset Management, the Norfolk County Commission and the commonwealth of Massachusetts were responsible for not maintaining the courthouse properly.
Leonard Kesten, Chernoff's attorney in the case, said yesterday the poor condition of the steps was well known to visitors and employees of the courthouse before the fall.
"The stairs were in awful shape," Kesten said. "I practiced there all the time and we all knew they were in terrible condition. I slipped there more than once but didn't break anything."
Kesten would not discuss the damages Chernoff is seeking, but court records listed claims from pain and suffering and anticipated future medical expenses at a combined $35,000.
Chernoff, 69, became a district court judge in Massachusetts in 1976 and a superior court judge in 1985. He was serving as a judge in Norfolk County at the time of the June 30 accident that resulted in the lawsuit.
Francis O'Brien, chairman of the Norfolk County Commission, said yesterday he could not comment on matters related to pending litigation.
After Chernoff fell, the state worked on the entrance to the Norfolk County Courthouse and added the handrails there now.
Kesten said Chernoff's fall helped spur the state to make the safety improvements. He said his client never missed a case because of the injury.
"He limped in and did not miss a day of work," Kesten said.
Court records listed an October deadline for a trial date to be set in the case and an April 2009 deadline for the case to be resolved.
Kesten said he didn't expect the case to become adversarial and thought it probably would not make it to trial.
Daily News staff writer Patrick Anderson can be reached at 781-433-8336 or panderso@cnc.com.
