On December 5, 2004, Anthony Turturro was riding his bicycle on Gerritsen Avenue in Brooklyn when he was struck by a car speeding at about 55 miles per hour in a 30 m.p.h. zone. Anthony, then 12 years old, hit the passenger side of the vehicle and was then thrown into the air landing in the roadway directly on his head.
On his behalf, Anthony’s mother sued Louis and Beatrice Pascarella (the vehicle driver and owner) as well as the City of New York (claiming that it was negligent in failing to perform proper and adequate studies of a long-standing speeding problem on Gerritsen Avenue which it knew about and with respect to which it failed to timely implement a specific plan to control or resolve).
On May 26, 2011, after a three week trial, a Kings County jury found that all parties were at fault for the accident and they apportioned liability as follows: the City (40%), Mr. Pascarella (50%) and Anthony (10%).
The jurors then awarded pain and suffering damages in the sum of $21,000,000 ($6,000,000 past – seven years, $15,000,000 future – 54 years) as well as medical expenses ($600,000 past, $11,500,000 future), future loss of earnings – 36 years ($3,000,000) and loss of Anthony’s services to his mother ($75,000).
The trial judge ordered a reduction of the damages for (a) future pain and suffering from $15,000,000 to $10,000,000 and (b) future medical expenses from $11,500,000 to $7,000,000. Plaintiff consented to the reductions but defendants appealed both on liability and damages grounds.
On appeal, in Turturro v. City of New York (2d Dept. 2015), the pain and suffering damages have been further reduced and now stand at $10,000,000 ($3,000,000 past, $7,000,000 future). The appellate court did not modify the $7,600,000 for medical expenses or the $3,000,000 for loss of earnings.
As indicated in the court’s decision, Anthony sustained severe traumatic brain injuries as well as orthopedic and other injuries leaving him with very significant permanent deficits. Here are the injury details:
- hospitalized until 12/28/04; then transferred to a rehabilitation hospital for one year and seven months; comatose four months
- extensive skull fractures, including the bones within the skull supporting the brain, the frontal bone, the face and cheek bones, the forehead and the petrous bone
- subdural hematomas requiring surgical evacuation
- diffuse axonal injury throughout the brain tissue
- extensive swelling of brain tissue requiring a craniotomy to remove of a piece of the skull (that was placed into the abdomen)
- encephalomalacia (development of scar tissue) in the frontal and temporal lobes
- hydrocephalus requiring insertion of a shunt running from inside the brain to the abdomen
- development of seizure disorder requiring permanent medication
- severe impairments of speech and hands
- orthopedic injuries including left ankle fractures, right knee flexion contracture requiring an arthrotomy and right hip ossification requiring surgery
- several additional surgical procedures including attempted larynx repair, tracheostomy, placement of a feeding tube and insertion of a Greenfield filter (to prevent blood clots)
- requires supervision to prevent choking due to inability to sense food or saliva in his mouth resulting from right facial weakness
- requires service dog for companionship and to help with spastic gait causing limited mobility
- requires assistance for many activities of daily living
Inside Information:
- The city made a $3,500,000 settlement offer during the trial (and the Pascarellas offered their liability policy limits of $50,000) that was rejected by Anthony’s parents after Anthony’s father was questioned to make sure he understood the danger of rejecting it. The judge told him that if the jury were to come back with a finding of no negligence against Anthony he would probably “do something about it” – meaning he believed Anthony was at least partially at fault.
- In summations, the City suggested that if a pain and suffering award were to be made it should be about $300,00 for the past and $700,000 for the future while plaintiff suggested ranges: $5,000,000 to $10,000,000 for the past and $10,000,000 to $15,000,000 for the future.
- The loss of earnings and future medical expense awards were supported by testimony from Richard Schuster, Ph.D., plaintiff’s expert in vocational assessments and life care planning costs.
- The defendants did not call any witnesses to testify on the issue of damages.
- The $75,000 loss of services award to Anthony’s mother was vacated by the appellate court because, while he clearly could perform no services such as household chores, there was no testimony about any services Anthony actually performed for her before the accident.
- Under CPLR Section 1601, the City is exposed to only 44.44% of the pain and suffering damages while it remains jointly and severally liable for all of the economic damages.
- The City is seeking leave to appeal the liability issues to the Court of Appeals.