Page 18 - Verdicts and Settlements Hall of Fame

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VERDICT & SETTLEMENTS
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#7 (Tie)
Case: Amy Jordon v. Roy W. Wright the NY MTA Attorney: Frank V. Floriani and David J. Dean Firm: Sullivan Papain Block McGrath & Cannavo Date: 2/5/2014
Verdict: $12,000,000
By Len Maniace
A legally blind dance instructor received $12 million from a negoti- ated settlement for serious injuries suffered when she was struck by a bus while crossing a street on Manhattan’s Upper West Side.
Amy Jordon, who was 39 at the time of the accident, said she was in the crosswalk with a green light on West 72nd Street near Broadway where she was hit by the bus on May 1, 2009. Jordan, who also worked as a real estate agent, suffered crushing injuries to her right leg and knee that resulted in 61 days in the hospital and 54 days of inpatient rehabilitation.
The injuries resulted in Jordan developing osteomyelitis, a bone infection that required further treatment. She said that she must use a leg brace and crutches, and that at some point, might need an above-the-knee amputation of her right leg. As a result, Jordan said she could not resume her work.
Jordan sued the bus driver Roy W. Wright and his employer, the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority, for negligence.
In his defense Wright claimed that Jordan stepped onto the road- way after he had begun his turn onto West 72nd Street and that she walked into the side of his bus. A witness, who was a passenger of the bus, supported Wright’s claims. Defense counsel further con- tended that Jordan’s injuries could not have resulted from having been struck by a bus.
Jordan was represented by Frank V. Floriani and David J. Dean of Sullivan Papain Block McGrath & Cannavo of Manhattan, who maintained the facts backed their client’s case.
“From our point of view it was a bus making a right turn. We had a pedestrian in the crosswalk with the light; there was a sign there that said yield to pedestrians, so we thought we were in strong position of liability,” Floriani said.
As for the possibility that Jordan walked into the bus, Floriani said, “It would have been impossible for the plaintiff to have sus- tained the injuries she had by walking into the side of the bus as the witness claimed.”
Jordan’s treatment included a series of operations to repair and rebuild her leg and knees, procedures that included several bone grafts, and the insertion of pins to secure the lower end of the thigh- bone.
In addition, the MTA charged that the accident was caused in part by a Lenox Hill Hospital ambulance that was parked in the area. State Supreme Judge Arlene Bluth found that the ambulance was legally parked at the time of the accident and dismissed that claim.
In her suit, Jordan sought recovery of past medical expenses, $4 million for future medical expenses, an unreported amount for past lost earnings, $1.2 million for future lost earnings, and unspeci ed damages for past and future pain and suffering.
The parties negotiated a pretrial settlement of $12 million, which was nalized though the guidance of mediator Allen Hurkin-Torres, of JAM in February 2014.
16 November 2015