Sebastian Porrazzo-Plaintiff-Direct. 49 Q. How long did these treatments take, approximately? A. About three-quarters of an hour. Q. Did you pay for these treatments? A. Yes, sir. Q. Do you know how much you paid? A. For the massages I paid $1 each time. Q. Did you go to any other place for treatment, any doctors or anybody else? A. Yes, sir. Q. How many times did you go to this doctor? A. I went there once at the beginning, and I went there again about a week ago. Q. Did he examine you at the time you were Q. Did he examine you on the last occasion? Q. At the time of this accident where were you, Q. I understand you had taken five or six paces off the sidewalk, is that correct? 50 Mr. Carson: I object to the form of the question. Mr. Ruggieri: Withdrawn. The Court: How far had you gone from the curb? The Witness: About eight or nine feet. 51 Q. Was that near the rail ? A. I had passed the first rail when the accident happened. Q. My question is where were you when you looked around and saw this car 100 feet up, near the rail or past the rail ? A. I was about two or three feet before reaching the first rail. 52 Sebastian Porrazzo—Plaintiff-Direct. Q. What was your business before the accident? A. Bricklayer's helper. Q. Were you a member of any union? A. Yes, sir. Q. How long have you been a bricklayer's helper? A. About 30 years. Q. Just tell this court and jury what the duties of a bricklayer's helper are. A. The duties of a bricklayer's helper are many. You either have to carry to the bricklayer the bricks, or the cement, whatever is necessary to help him in doing the building, or helping him in the scaffold, with this material, or work to the lifts. You have sev53 eral of these works. Q. Where did you carry these bricks that you speak of, on what part of your body? A. It all depends on what work you are doing. In some places you carry with a wheelbarrow, in other places you have to carry it over your shoulder, you have the necessary hod-carrier that you put the bricks on your shoulder and take them to the bricklayer. Q. Does your work usually require lifting oi material, building material ? A. Yes, sir. Q. How much did you get as a union bricklayer's helper? A. Well, I earned around about $9 per day, but sometimes working in some places 54 where they were very busy doing some overtime work, I made over $45 to $50 per week. Q. You received union wages for a bricklayer's helper, didn't you? A. Yes, sir, exactly. Q. Who did you work for at the time of the accident, or prior thereto? A. Schillaci. Q. What was his business? A. Contractor. Q. What kind of contractor? A. Building contractor for brickwork. 55 Sebastian Porrazzo—Plaintiff —Direct. Ira Fink-For Plaintiff-Direct. Q. All the time you were receiving treatment either at the hospital or elsewhere, did you return to work during that time? A. No, I returned to work after two years. Q. When did you first attempt to return to work? A. It was over two years, or two years and two months after I got hurt I went and tried to work, and while I was trying the boss told me, “You better go home, Porrazzo, because you aren't able to do anything.” Mr. Carson: I move to strike out the answer about what the boss said to him. 56 Mr. Ruggieri: I consent. Q. When did you first attempt to do any work? A. About two years ago, I was around 62 years old at the time and I tried. Q. What difficulty did you find when you returned to work? A. At the time that I started to work the pain on my side was so strong that I couldn't keep it up, I had to quit. Q. Has Mr. Schillaci been paying you your wages since the date of this accident? A. No, sir, he didn't. Mr. Ruggieri: We will suspend with this witness and consent to put on the doctor now. 57 IRA FINK, being duly sworn, testified as follows: Direct examination by Mr. Ruggieri. Q. Where do you live? A. 315 East 17th Street, New York City. : 58 Ira Fink-For Plaintiff —Direct. Q. Doctor, are these the hospital records of St. Mr. Ruggieri: I offer them in evidence. The Court: There may be a lot of hearsay in those records. Whatever are the official records of the hospital are admissible. Mr. Ruggieri: There is no statement by the plaintiff at all. The Court: There is nothing that is hearsay? Mr. Ruggieri: There is no statement by the plaintiff. They couldn't speak to him. He spoke Italian. The Court: All right. 59 Q. Doctor, you were attached to the St. Marks Hospital, were you, August 1st, 1927? A. Yes. Q. And some time thereafter, while the plaintiff was in the hospital, you examined him? A. Yes, sir. Q. Will you kindly tell me, and I offer you Exhibit 1 to refresh your recollection, what you found as a result of your examination? A. On August 2nd, 1927, I have noted, as the result of my examination, that there were several fractured ribs 60 Mr. Carson: Objected to, the witness reading from the record. The Court: Does that refresh your recollection? The Witness: That is the only way I can remember anything about this case. The Court: I will allow it. Ira Fink-For Plaintiff-Direct-Cross. 61 The Witness (continuing): There were The Court: That is the shoulder blade? Q. What treatment did you give him at the hospital, do you know, from those records? A. Yes. Q. Will you please tell the court and jury? A. He was X-rayed. The chest covering of the fractured ribs involved was strapped with adhesive tape, and the arm was strapped to the side, fixing the movements of the arm, the shoulder blade and the shoulder joint. He was left in that position, and then he was discharged from our service in the hospital on August 12th to return to our outpatient department, from which he was subsequently transferred to the psychotherapy department where baking treatments were given. 62 63 Cross-examination by Mr. Carson. Q. What was your capacity at St. Marks Hospital in August, 1927? A. Adjunct visiting surgeon. Q. How long have you been there? A. As adjunct visiting surgeon I had been at the hospital since 1923. Q. Dr. Bernenke treated the patient first, didn't he? A. Was he one of our internes ? Q. Did you know such a party there? A. Yes. Q. Dr. Bernenke? A. He was an interne, probably treated the patient on admission as an emergency. Q. The doctor that first treated him when he first came there wasn't that Dr. Bernenke, ac |