Widow sues North Hempstead for alleged wrongful death at town waste drop-off site

North Hempstead Town has asked a court to dismiss a lawsuit filed by the widow of a Carle Place man who died last year after falling into a town-owned dumpster at a waste drop-off site.

The suit the town responded to last month was filed in Mineola at the state Supreme Court of Nassau County by Ana Silva. Her husband, Rogerio Silva, died March 15, 2020, according to court documents.

Silva is seeking unspecified damages. The suit alleges wrongful death and conscious suffering from the fall at the transfer station at 999 West Shore Rd., on the border of Roslyn and Port Washington.

The town offers a Sunday residential drop-off program at the transfer station for the dumping of yard waste, household rubbish as well as construction and demolition debris generated by residential use.

The lawsuit names the town and North Hempstead Solid Waste Management Authority as defendants. The town board presides as the authority’s governing board and appoints the agency’s management.

The suit alleges Rogerio Silva fell over "an unguarded ledge and into a dumpster, causing him to sustain a fracture of his thoracic spine and spinal cord injury as a result of blunt force trauma."

The "decedent’s injuries, conscious pain and suffering, pre-impact terror and fear of impending injury and death, and wrongful death, were caused by the negligence and carelessness of the town, its agents, servants and/or employees," the lawsuit states.

It also alleges that the town, as well as the authority, failed to provide proper guardrails or post warnings to prevent falling.

The Silva family declined to comment through their attorney, Jason W. Hake of Port Jefferson Station-based Winkler Kurtz LLP.

The litigation is being defended by Oscar Michelen with Cuomo LLC, which has offices in Manhattan and Mineola, under the town’s existing insurance coverage, according to court records and the town’s 2020 annual comprehensive financial report.

Michelen and North Hempstead Town spokesman Gordon Tepper declined comment, citing pending litigation.

In an Aug. 2 filing, Michelen wrote that the injury was caused by Rogerio Silva’s "own comparative negligence and culpable conduct."

"Plaintiff’s decedent did not use the site in the manner intended" and "assumed the risk of the activity he was engaged in," Michelen wrote. He "did not avail himself of available safety devices."

Michelen also wrote that the defendants "had no active role in the operation, management, or control of the premises having contracted to a third-party vendor."