Page 26 - Verdicts and Settlements Hall of Fame

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VERDICT & SETTLEMENTS
HALL OF FAME
#19 (Tie)
By Phil Albinus
Working for the New York’s Department of Sanitation is hard work but it can be very rewarding. This is why when Frank Justich suffered a horri c accident that took his life while on the job, his family was awarded the highest amount ever given to a uniformed employee of New York City.
On Jan. 26, 2010, the 41-year-old Justich was crushed by a delivery truck while employed as a sanitation worker. While he was loading a truck that was stopped on Ditmars Boulevard in Astoria, Queens, he became pinned between the left side of his truck and the right side of a milk delivery truck.
“What was unique about this case was the fact that our client was crushed to death but lived for a period of time before he passed away,” said Robert S. Kelner, of Kelner & Kelner, who represented the plaintiff’s family.
#22
By Len Maniace
A teen who was struck by a van near Buffalo N.Y., requiring the partial amputation of her right leg and spinal fusion surgery, received nearly $9 million in damages from New York State in a pretrial nego- tiated settlement.
Brittany Arvelo suffered fractures to her legs, back and elbow after she was hit by an entry step protruding from the side of the van while she walked with a friend alongside Clinton Street in West Seneca, N.Y. Arvelo was 12 at the time of the accident on Feb. 21, 2008.
Arvelo’s father, Saturnino, led suit on behalf of his daughter ,charging that the driver who worked for the state Of ce of People with Developmental Disabilities, was negligent and that the state which owned the van, was ultimately responsible.
The attorneys who argued the case for Justich survivors were not surprised by the sizable award. “The case stood out because there are very few sanitation deaths. Unlike the police and re departments, there are few deaths as a sanitation worker in New York City,” said co-counsel Todd Strier, of Kelner & Kelner. “It’s a safe career -- not an easy career but you don’t have the rates of death you would have in police and re departments in those situations.”
Justich’s widow Stacy acted as the administrator of her husband’s estate, and sued the delivery truck’s driver, Edward Hiraldo, and Hiraldo’s employer, Derle Farms. Strier argued that Hiraldo was “basically impatient” when he attempted to make a right hand turn in a very tight spot.
“It was a semi trailer and he made a right hand turn where he shouldn’t have because he didn’t have enough room between the cab and the trailer. He was never going to make the turn he would have had to swing too wide,” said Strier.
The award of $9,000,000 was for future earnings that were lost in Justich’s death.
“Mr. Justich was the breadwinner for this family. While we certainly could not bring back the personal aspects of this loss, at least we felt comfortable to take care of this family nancially,” said Kellner. “We have tremendous satisfaction that his children could go to col- lege and the family could have a home and live a normal nancial life even though the loss was immeasurable.”
The defense initially contended that Arvelo was walking within the roadway at the time of the accident, but then the driver acknowl- edged that she was not aware of the collision until she heard a thud on the side of the van.
“It was pretty clear from the physical evidence at the scene where the body was found, the testimony of the other girl that they were on the shoulder of the road; and that was pretty much the conclu- sion of the police of cers, too,” said the Arvelos’ attorney, Donald P. Chiari, of Brown Chiari LLP of Buffalo, who together with his partner James E. Brown were lead attorneys.
Arvelo underwent a below-the-knee amputation of her right leg and later the fusion of four neck vertebrae. After an infection at the amputation site was treated, Arvelo was eventually tted with a prosthetic leg. She underwent six months of outpatient rehabilita- tion and three months of home-treatment.
That all, however did not appear likely to end her problems. Arvelo’s orthopedist said that she was likely to need additional neck surgery and a physician said she would alsoneed additional surgery to support her prosthetic leg.
Brittany’s father sought recovery of a total of about $1.35 million for Brittany’s past and future medical expenses, up to $11 million for her future life-care expenses, damages for past and future pain and suffering, and his own lost earnings when he took off from work to care for Brittany.
Case: Estate of Justich v. Derle Farms Inc. Attorney: Robert S. Kelner & Todd J. Strier Firm: Kelner & Kelner
Verdict: $9,000,000
Case: Saturnino v. the state O ce of People with Developmental Disabilities
Attorney: Donald P. Chiari Firm: Brown Chiari LLP Verdict: $8,975,000
24 November 2015