On 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
State Negligent in Causing Death but No Damages Allowed
Cheryl 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
Appellate Court Rules that Jurors Erred in Finding No Pre-Death Pain and Suffering in Bus Accident
On 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
Mother’s Death Results in Loss of Guidance and Support Awards to Adult Sons Affirmed on Appeal
On 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
Court Affirms Damages Awards for Child in Mother’s Fatal Pedestrian Knockdown Accident
On October 18, 2003, Maria Araujo was crossing the street with her three year old son Fernando in her arms. Just blocks from their home in Hempstead, in a crosswalk at Washington and Jackson Streets, Maria was struck in a crosswalk by a car that had collided with a county bus.
Here is the accident scene on
Review of the 10 Largest Pain and Suffering Awards Approved by New York’s Appellate Courts in 2011
New York’s appellate courts issued decisions in 10 cases in 2011 that approved pain and suffering damages in the sum of $3,500,000 or more.
The largest was $12,000,000 for a 24 year old woman who was paralyzed when a weight-lifting machine fell on top of her.
The courts affirmed the jury verdict in five of
$3,000,000 for 11 Months of Pre-Death Pain and Suffering Affirmed in Medical Malpractice Case
Theresa Capwell was 33 years old and in good health when she started experiencing abdominal pain. She was diagnosed with pancreatitis (an inflammation of the pancreas) and admitted to Westchester Medical Center on September 18, 2000.
Within five days of her hospital admission, Theresa suffered acute respiratory distress and she was placed on a ventilator.
Pre-Death Pain and Suffering Verdict of $3,500,000 Upheld on Appeal in Death of Ten Year Old Girl
Anna Gloria Rivera was born in 1988 and within three months she was diagnosed with asthma (a chronic inflammatory disease of the airways). Growing up, she used a nebulizer with Albuterol to alleviate her symptoms but from time to time suffered from asthma attacks that would sometimes end up with emergency room treatment before
Pre-Death Pain and Suffering Verdict of $3,000,000; Case Dismissed on Appeal
Tragedy struck on January 28, 2004 when four year old Nico Rivera died. He’d fallen ill on December 22nd with what appeared to be flu-like symptoms and over the next 4 1/2 weeks, his parents took him several times both to and from his pediatrician’s office and the hospital. After his second seizure, Nico
$1,200,000 for Pre-Death Pain and Suffering in Death of Pedestrian Struck by Bus
On June 2, 2006 at 6:20 a.m., Helen Skillman was struck and killed by a New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA) bus backing up onto a sidewalk at the 165th Street terminal on Merrick Boulevard in the Jamaica section of Queens.
Here is the bus terminal where the accident took place:
Ms. Skillman, a healthy