Bus accident costs New York City Transit Authority $12M
A jury assessed damages of $12 million against the New York City Transit Authority for a bus accident that left two people injured. The jury resolved a right-of-way dispute by deciding that the bus's driver was entirely to blame for the bus striking a left-turning vehicle in an intersection on Aug. 19, 2008. The turning vehicle's driver, now deceased, was both a plaintiff and a defendant in the suit. She was deemed not liable, and her estate recovered $2 million in damages. A passenger in the same vehicle, Dorothy Lemon, was awarded $10 million for knee injuries, a leg fracture and depression that she linked to the accident. A former home health aide, Lemon claimed that her injuries' lingering effects prevent her resumption of work.
Lemon v. N.Y.C.T.A.Bronx County
Jury rejects man who claimed surgery left wrist immobile
A jury sided with an orthopedist in a dispute about whether the doctor had obtained informed consent to surgery that he performed. The matter dates to 2006, when David Powers underwent surgical fusion of his right wrist, which had failed to heal properly after a fracture. Powers claimed that the fusion removed all of the wrist's flexibility and left his right hand's fingers immobile. He sued the surgeon, contending that the doctor had not explained the surgery's possible residual effects. The surgeon claimed that he had disclosed all of the surgery's risks and that Powers' residual effects were a result of Powers' unwillingness to undergo postsurgical therapy. The jury found no wrongdoing by the surgeon.
VIEW THE FULL CASE Powers v. KirbyDutchess County
Fallen window washer recovers $2.25M in lawsuit
The owner and a tenant of a Manhattan high-rise agreed to pay a total of $2.25 million to a window washer who sustained fractures of an elbow, a hip and his pelvis when he fell from the building's second story. The payment settled a lawsuit filed by Tom Gjonaj, who claimed that the June 2010 accident was a result of a failure of a wall-mounted bolt that was securing his window washer's harness. He contended that the bolt slipped out of the building's wall. The defendants contended that Gjonaj had been warned not to use the bolt, but they ultimately agreed to a settlement to avoid a trial.
VIEW THE FULL CASE Gjonaj v. 30W26 Land LPKings County
Largest New York Jury Verdicts:
(2013 only; based on cases reported to VerdictSearch)
| VERDICT | CASE | VENUE | DATE |
$162,300,000 |
In Re Vitamin C Antitrust Litigation |
Federal |
March 14 |
$130,000,000 |
Reilly v. Ninia |
Suffolk Co. |
April 16 |
$35,000,000 |
Peraica v. A.O. Smith Water Products |
New York Co. |
March 1 |
$31,000,000 |
Andino v. Mills |
Bronx Co. |
March 22 |
$30,200,000 |
Tomita Technologies USA, LLC v. Nintendo Co. Ltd. |
Federal |
March 14 |
$12,000,000 |
Lemon v. N.Y.C.T.A. |
Bronx Co. |
April 24 |
$11,965,800 |
Mouta v. Essex Market Development LLC |
Bronx Co. |
April 19 |
$8,000,000 |
Thomas v. Estate of Seastres-Ahmed |
Kings Co. |
Feb. 27 |
$7,986,909 |
Kempisty v. 246 Spring Street, LLC. |
New York Co. |
March 6 |
$7,724,936 |
Morse v. Spitzer |
Federal |
Feb. 12 |










