On May 1, 2007, at 4 p.m., Jenna Vatalaro, a 19 year old college student, was driving her car westbound on Montauk Highway near its intersection with Atlantic Avenue in the hamlet of Blue Point in Suffolk County when her car was struck by a 35 foot long Suffolk County transit bus. Ms Vatalaro sustained… Continue Reading
Category Archives: Wrongful Death
Subscribe to Wrongful Death RSS FeedVerdict Affirmed in Mall Parking Lot Death Case
Posted in Wrongful DeathOn June 29, 2005, Concetta Russo-Carriero, a 56 year old paralegal, was abducted, stabbed twice with a knife and murdered in the parking garage of a White Plains shopping mall. The perpetrator, 43 year old Phillip Grant, was a convicted rapist who’d already spent 25 years in prison. He specifically selected the garage to commit… Continue Reading
Appellate Court Affirms Liability Verdict and Modifies Damages Awarded by Jury in Truck-Pedestrian Fatality Case
Posted in Wrongful DeathOn May 10, 2007, Ivan Hernandez Morales, then 21 years old, was killed in a work-related accident when a private garbage truck lurched backward and he was pinned and crushed against a dumpster in a driveway off 37th Street in Astoria. Mr. Morales was employed as a helper on the truck owned by his employer… Continue Reading
Crane Collapse Case Wrongful Death Awards Modified
Posted in Wrongful DeathOn May 30, 2008, crane operator Donald Leo and laborer Ramadan Kurtaj were working at a building construction site in Manhattan. Mr. Leo was inside a crane’s cab 14 stories above East 91st Street and Mr. Kurtaj was working on the street below. Shortly before 8 a.m.,the crane tilted, rocked and then sheared off of… Continue Reading
Damages Verdict for Pre-Death Pain and Suffering Affirmed in Yard-Work Vehicle Tragedy
Posted in Wrongful DeathOn March 11, 2007, Elias Fasolas was operating a Bobcat S175 skid-steer loader with a bucket attachment when a limb from a nine-foot-tall tree entered the open operator cab, crushing him against the rear and ceiling of the cab and killing him. Mr. Fasolas was 28 years old, lived with his parents in Port Jefferson… Continue Reading
Economic Damages Addressed on Appeal in Wrongful Death Case
Posted in Wrongful DeathOn December 14, 2011, Suzanne Hart was entering the elevator in the lobby of the building where she worked, at 285 Madison Avenue in Manhattan, when the elevator malfunctioned and suddenly shot upward while its doors were still open. The moving elevator struck her at about knee level causing her to fall into the elevator… Continue Reading
Jury Verdict Declining to Award Damages Affirmed in Fatal Pedestrian Knockdown Case
Posted in Wrongful DeathOn January 29, 2013, at about 7:30 p.m., Juan Estevez was attempting to cross Sunrise Highway at its intersection with Henry Street in Freeport when he was struck by a left turning vehicle. Mr. Estevez, 64 years old, sustained massive injuries in and about his head, ribs and sternum. He was pronounced dead at the… Continue Reading
Appeals Court Upholds Verdict in Unwitnessed Fatal Pedestrian Knockdown Accident
Posted in Wrongful DeathOn October 29, 2006, a woman was found dead on the road four feet from the curb of a bus stop on the Henry Hudson Parkway service road at West 236th Street in the Bronx. There were tire marks across her back and she’d sustained crush induced fractures of her arms, face, pelvis, shoulder and… Continue Reading
Appellate Court Addresses Damages in Fatal Car Crash Case
Posted in Wrongful DeathOn January 24, 2004, Col. (retired) William Gardner sustained fatal injuries when the vehicle he was driving struck and vaulted over an interstate highway’s snow-covered barrier in Syracuse and fell to the street below. We discussed the ensuing lawsuit in previous articles, here and here. In Gardner v. State of New York (4th Dept. 2015) almost… Continue Reading
Appellate Court Addresses Pre-Impact Terror, Conscious Pain and Suffering and Pecuniary Damages in Pedestrian Knockdown Wrongful Death Case
Posted in Wrongful DeathOn December 2, 2009 at about 7 p.m., a woman was walking across the street at the intersection of Avenue U and East 71st Street in Brooklyn. A city bus driver had stopped for a red light before turning right onto Avenue U when his bus struck and killed the pedestrian, 65 year old Virginia… Continue Reading
Verdict Affirmed in Delayed Diagnosis Medical Malpractice Death Case
Posted in Medical Malpractice, Wrongful DeathBennett Rose underwent three colonoscopies – on January 3, 2003, December 14, 2006 and October 11 2007, each indicating the presence of polyps (which were removed), none indicating any malignancy or cancer. About two months after the third test, though, Mr. Rose, then 72 years old, started feeling unusually weak and tired. He was diagnosed… Continue Reading
Pre-Death Pain and Suffering Damages Reduced in Medical Malpractice Case
Posted in Medical Malpractice, Wrongful DeathIn 2002, Ciciline Reid was a 49 year old grandmother who worked seven days a week as a home health aide. On July 28th, she presented to the Montefiore Medical Center emergency room complaining of swelling on the side of her neck and pain on swallowing that was diagnosed as a sore throat and gland… Continue Reading
Loss of Parental Guidance Awards Reduced on Appeal of Major Wrongful Death Case
Posted in Wrongful DeathWe discussed the nearly $15,000,000 damages award in the fatal motor vehicle crash case of 28 year old Jason M. Rhoades in an article published on December 3, 2013, here. As we predicted, the defendant appealed arguing that the loss of parental guidance awards were excessive and that the loss of inheritance awards were improper…. Continue Reading
Appellate Court Addresses Damages in Medical Malpractice Death Case
Posted in Medical Malpractice, Wrongful DeathWilbur Rodriguez, a 44 year old postal worker, went to a hospital emergency room in Manhattan at 11:45 a.m. on Saturday, January 24, 2009. He complained of shortness of breath that started the day before, fever and chills. He was diagnosed with pneumonia and, after 12 hours in the ER, admitted and assigned a room…. Continue Reading
New York’s Highest Court Rules on Damages in Multiple Fatality Motor Vehicle Rollover Case
Posted in Wrongful DeathOn July 1, 2000, 60 year old Steven Motelson lost control of his 1998 Ford Explorer sport utility vehicle on Route 17 in Goshen. It rolled over nearly four times and landed on the driver’s side. The roof of the car collapsed onto Steven’s head and caused his death at the scene. Steven’s 36 year… Continue Reading
Substantial Awards in Medical Malpractice Case for Pre-Death Pain and Suffering and Costs of Care of Decedent’s Disabled Adult Child
Posted in Medical Malpractice, Wrongful DeathOn Wednesday June 18, 2008, Nam Yoon Lee woke up with stabbing pain on the right side of his stomach. He went with his wife to the emergency room at a hospital in Queens where morphine was administered, tests led to a diagnosis of gallbladder disease and a plan was made to surgically remove his… Continue Reading
State of New York Liable for Damages in Two Cases involving Roadway Fatalities
Posted in Wrongful DeathOn January 23, 2004, Jason Rhoades sustained fatal injuries when the vehicle he was driving slid across the roadway over a bridge on Interstate 81 in Syracuse, struck a snowbank packed against the concrete barrier guard at the edge of the bridge, and his car vaulted off the bridge to the road below. Thirty-six hours… Continue Reading
Appellate Court Rules on Conscious Pain and Suffering Damages in Case Invovling Death at Scene of Bus Accident
Posted in Wrongful DeathLourdes Fernandez was 68 years old on July 2, 2008 when, at about 1:30 p.m., she was crossing Madison Street near its intersection with Jackson Street in Manhattan. She was struck by a left turning bus and died at the scene. Her son, Roberto Santana, as administrator of his mother’s estate, sued the bus driver… Continue Reading
Pain and Suffering Claim in Suicide Case Survives Appeal
Posted in Psychological Damages, Wrongful DeathIn 2005, Erin Stolarski lived in a Port Chester apartment with her boyfriend Donald DeSimone, a police officer. In October, though, Donald told Erin that he wanted to break up and he asked her to leave the apartment. Despondent over the breakup, Erin (23 years old) attempted suicide on October 15, 2005 by ingesting Oxycodone… Continue Reading
Damage Awards Affirmed in Wrongful Death Medical Malpractice Case
Posted in Medical Malpractice, Wrongful DeathHermine Browne, a 58 year old nurse’s aide, was experiencing excruciating stomach pain when she went to see her internist on February 17, 2001. The doctor diagnosed her with irritable bowel syndrome and prescribed medication. Unfortunately, the pain continued (and the same diagnosis was made) through March of 2002 when a sonogram and then a… Continue Reading
Court Affirms Pain and Suffering Award in Wrongful Death Car Crash Case – Passenger Conscious for 39 Minutes
Posted in Wrongful DeathOn August 11, 2008, Elvia Collado was 22 years old and working as a counselor for developmentally disabled kids while attending college at night. That was the day she died when Waldo Vargas, her boyfriend of three years, crashed his car while driving intoxicated on the Belt Parkway at Springfield Boulevard in Queens. He lost… Continue Reading
State Negligent in Causing Death but No Damages Allowed
Posted in Wrongful DeathCheryl Thurston lived in a group home facility operated by New York State’s Office for People with Developmental Disabilities. The residents at 8 Hilltop Drive in Pittsford all had developmental disabilities and each was subject to varying degrees of supervision with regard to things like mobility and safety. Ms. Thurston was mentally and physically handicapped… Continue Reading
Appellate Court Rules that Jurors Erred in Finding No Pre-Death Pain and Suffering in Bus Accident
Posted in Wrongful DeathOn June 18, 2005, Luisa Sanchez was walking across 163rd Street in the Bronx when the 28 year old woman was struck by a city sanitation truck. Ms. Sanchez was found by the truck driver lying in the street behind his truck. She was bleeding from her ears, nose and the back of her head… Continue Reading
Mother’s Death Results in Loss of Guidance and Support Awards to Adult Sons Affirmed on Appeal
Posted in Wrongful DeathOn November 8, 2006, Ellen Mary McHugh was in the crosswalk on East Gun Hill Road at Bainbridge Avenue in the Bronx, when she was struck and killed by a left turning city bus. This roadway has been called the most dangerous in the Bronx: Mrs. McHugh, a 66 year old widow, was survived by… Continue Reading