On September 27, 2011 at about 9 a.m., Alfonso Rojas was driving along Roosevelt Avenue in Queens on his way to to work when a piece of metal flew off the elevated structure of the No. 7 train above. It penetrated through the car’s windshield and struck Mr. Rojas’s right arm causing extensive damage.
The
On October 28, 2004, an 18 year old college student was crossing 70th Street at Eighth Avenue, in the Bay Ridge section of Brooklyn. On her way to the bank to perform an errand for her father, Walla Mohamed wound up under the front wheel of a city bus making a right turn and sustained very serious injuries.
Another pedestrian hit by a bus:
Walla sued claiming that she was in the crosswalk but the bus driver contended she was well outside the crosswalk – perhaps 20 feet beyond it – walking in between two illegally parked cars, so that he couldn’t spot her until it was too late.
On November 19, 2007, a Kings County jury rendered a verdict in Walla’s favor and found that her pain and suffering claim warranted an award of $11,500,000; ($4,000,000 past – 3 years, $7,500,000 future – 60 years). After a 20% reduction for comparative fault, plaintiff’s net award stood at $9,200,000.
On a post-trial motion by the defense, the trial judge ruled that the damages verdict was excessive and he slashed it to $6,000,000 ($2,000,000 past, $4,000,000 future) at which point plaintiff’s net pain and suffering award stood at $4,800,000.
The defendant appealed arguing that there should be a new trial because the trial judge erred in two ways:
The defendant also argued that the trial judge’s reduction of the future pain and suffering award did not go far enough.
In Mohamed v. New York City Transit Authority (2d Dept. 2011), the appellate judges have now rejected the defense arguments as to the evidence issues and, accordingly, they affirmed the jury’s finding that defendant was 80% at fault.
The appeals court also reduced the future damages verdict to $3,000,000, agreeing with the defense that the trial judge’s $3,500,000 reduction of the jury’s award for future pain and suffering was not enough.
Walla’s total pain and suffering recovery has thus been reduced to $4,000,000 – 80% of the $5,000,000 gross award ($2,000,000 past, $3,000,000 future).
Unfortunately, there was no mention in the appellate court decision as to the nature of the injuries other than a statement that Walla sustained “serious injuries.” We have uncovered the facts.
Injuries Details: When Walla was struck by the bus, it pushed or threw her several feet and one of its tires ran over her right leg. The injuries were indeed serious – a massive degloving injury of the full length of her right leg. This was a horrendous injury in which soft tissue, down to the bones, including neurovascular bundles, were literally torn away and peeled off from her upper groin down to her mid-calf.
Here are the other undisclosed injury facts:
Inside Information:
Burn injuries are without doubt among the most painful injuries a person can experience. They come from a wide variety of accidents such as fires in the home or a car, electrical shocks on the job and even operating room lights during surgery. Recent court decisions in New York have upheld verdicts for pain