Case number is 137097 - NYS Court Of Claims. Short Caption: Hailan Cui Administrator for Estate of Yanfang Xie v. The State of New York (formerly E21-2210). Yanfang Xie was a patient at the Manhattan Psychiatric Center (MPC) on Randalls Island. She left the facility on April 4, 2019, and was found dead about 10 days later. Next of kin, Hailan Cui (administrator), was not notified until about a week after disappearance. We are suing for wrongful death against the State of New York. The trial began March 18, and there was opening statements, and examination of Hailan and our expert psychiatrist witness. Before we put on medical examiner, police officer, and an MPC nurse (and the State with their several witnesses, as well, of course), the judge adjourned the case requesting that I find co-counsel with trial experience (which I do not have). Trial co-counsel can do as much or as little as they like. That is, lawyer can examine all the witnesses and do the closing, or simply monitor.
So sorry for your loss. You can find many excellent attorneys using legal directories such as Lawyers.com, Super Lawyers, FindLaw and Justia. That said, it appears that you already have an attorney (Jesse Weiner, Esq.). You might want to speak with your attorney before looking for trial counsel as you can only have one attorney-of-record. Although you can always change lawyers, the outgoing lawyer would be entitled to a fee for his work performed and to get reimbursed for his expenses.
Best regards,
Jonathan R. Ratchik, Esq.
Kramer, Dunleavy & Ratchik, PLLC
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