On November 11, 2011, Davon Olive, then 12 years old, slipped and fell on a puddle of water on the platform of the Grand Army Plaza subway station in Brooklyn.

In the ensuing lawsuit, a Brooklyn jury determined that the defendant transit authority was at fault because it knew or should have known there was water on the floor that made the platform area unsafe. The jury then awarded pain and suffering damages in the sum of $600,000 ($200,000 past – six years, $400,000 future – 56 years).

In Olive v. New York City Transit Authority (2d Dept. 2021) both the liability and damages verdicts have been affirmed.

Here are the injury details:

  • right hip bone bruise – treated conservatively with hospital, clinic and doctor visits, physical therapy and over the counter medication
  • partial tear of anterior labrum in hip and iliotibial band (“IT”) syndrome

  • diagnosed five years later with trochanteric bursitis followed by steroid injections and more physical therapy
  • arthroscopic surgery on April 6, 2017 – an endoscopic bursectomy to loosen the IT band and extract inflammatory material from the bursa
  • continuing and permanent pain with antalgic gait limiting walking and other activities

Inside Information:

  • In his summation, plaintiff’s attorney asked the jury to award $2,100,000.
  • The jury found that plaintiff had been negligent, presumably for fooling around with a fellow student on the platform, but that his negligence was not a substantial factor in causing his accident.