The plaintiff who was 54 years old was ran over by a red double decker sightseeing tour bus on July 3rd, 2015. At the time of the accident, it was a sunny Friday afternoon. He had the walk signal in his favor when a 13 ton double decker sightseeing tour bus attempted to make a left turn from West 4th street onto 6th avenue striking him. He suffered serious injuries. As a result of the crash he spent 78 days in the hospital, having 9 operations. He also had two additional operations after he was discharged from the hospital.
$45 million for past pain and suffering and $40 million for future pain and suffering
Howard Hershenhorn and Diana M. A. Carnemolla tried the case on behalf of the injured plaintiff before the Hon. Barbara Jaffe in New York Supreme Court. After a 5 week trial a jury of 2 men and 4 women took less than one day to reach their verdict, $45 million for past pain and suffering and $40 million for future pain and suffering. As a result of the crash he had a complete transection of the superficial femoral artery which was repaired, complete transection of the femoral vein which could not be repaired, and some loss of use of both sensory and motor function of the left extremity. He suffered a foot drop along with degloving injuries. He also sustained a fracture to his right clavicle which was repaired with surgery. He also sustained an injury to his adrenal gland resulting in partial adrenal insufficiency requiring him to take steroids for the rest of his life. He is now able to walk with an AFO brace, but still suffers from chronic neurological pain. “He is a true inspiration” said Hershenhorn. “He refused to let the crash define his life and he has worked tirelessly to recapture as much of his pre-accident lifestyle as he could. He is the embodiment of the old expression no pain no gain. He is a remarkable person and it was an honor to represent him..”
The Defense contended that the plaintiff made an excellent recovery and that he did not require any significant future medical care. The Defense argued that since he was able to walk and up down 2 flights of stairs to get in and out of his apartment, traveled to Los Angeles on numerous occasions and to Spain and other places, go to the theater and out for dinners and parties that his future was bright. The jury soundly rejected those arguments.
Our legal assistant, Richard Soldano’s work on the case was invaluable.