Tegna Anchor Paid to Testify
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WGRZ (Buffalo) Weatherman Kevin O'Connell took the stand in Niagara County Courtroom recently and he was paid to be there.
The Robert D. Berkun law firm, which quotes an endorsement from O'Connell on its website, called the veteran broadcaster to the stand Wednesday in Niagara County Court, where the firm was representing Sharon Zientek of Wheatfield in a lawsuit against Niagara County.
"Are you a meteorologist?" asked the county's lawyer, Michael F. Perley.
"No, sir, I'm a Catholic," O'Connell replied.
But he has a seal from the American Meteorological Society and said he's been "involved in weather" for 44 years.
Zientek claimed she injured her shoulder when she slipped and fell in the parking lot of the county Human Resources Building in Niagara Falls on Feb. 7, 2014.
The lawsuit claimed the county was negligent in not doing a better job of clearing the parking lot after nearly a foot of snow in the two days before Zientek's fall.
O'Connell said he was paid for his testimony – he didn't say how much – and has testified in many cases. Most of his testimony Wednesday dealt with the effectiveness of various types of ice melters in cold temperatures.
O'Connell, citing National Weather Service records, said the temperature in the Falls at the time of the accident was 11 degrees, with a wind chill advisory in effect. He said when the temperature is below 14 degrees, salt doesn't work well on ice.
While O'Connell was paid to testify, it did not do much for lawyer that paid him to be there. The jury unanimously found the county was not negligent, and lawyer's client won nothing.
H/T Buffalo News
