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
Verdict Affirmed in Mall Parking Lot Death Case
On 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
Appellate Court Affirms Liability Verdict and Modifies Damages Awarded by Jury in Truck-Pedestrian Fatality Case
On 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
Crane Collapse Case Wrongful Death Awards Modified
On 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
Damages Verdict for Pre-Death Pain and Suffering Affirmed in Yard-Work Vehicle Tragedy
On 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
Jury Verdict Declining to Award Damages Affirmed in Fatal Pedestrian Knockdown Case
On 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
Appellate Court Addresses Damages in Fatal Car Crash Case
On 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
Appellate Court Addresses Pre-Impact Terror, Conscious Pain and Suffering and Pecuniary Damages in Pedestrian Knockdown Wrongful Death Case
On 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
Loss of Parental Guidance Awards Reduced on Appeal of Major Wrongful Death Case
We 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
State of New York Liable for Damages in Two Cases involving Roadway Fatalities
On 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.
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