Sad Story of Brooklynite's Fall From Cliff Walk Raises Issues of Personal Responsibility

The news that a young Brooklyn man who became a quadriplegic after falling from Cliff Walk (one of New England’s best-known tourist attractions) can sue the city of Newport is causing all manner of debate in Rhode Island.

According to the Brooklyn Eagle, Simcha Berman was on his honeymoon in August 2000 when he fell after mistakenly taking a path that led from the Cliff Walk. Newport said it had no duty to warn visitors, but the state Supreme Court disagreed.

In Newport, the lawsuit is raising questions of where to draw the line between personal responsibility and public liability.The Bermans say they are not the type to take risks. But some locals say that the path is clearly marked, and are against putting up a disfiguring chain link fence because of a few folks who wander off it, according to the Providence Journal. 

Sadly, Simcha's wife divorced him, with his blessing, after taking care of him for two years. A major tenet of their Orthodox Jewish faith is that married couples have many children, which is now impossible.

Photo by Thalling55, Creative Commons license (http://www.flickr.com/photos/thalling/ / CC BY 2.0)

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