Page 27 - Verdicts and Settlements Hall of Fame

#23
Case: Krluc v. City of New York
Attorney: Adam Cahn
Firm: : Block, O’Toole & Murphy, LLP Verdict: $8,800,000
By Phil Albinus
You wouldn’t think that leaves on a few trees could be the cause of so much mayhem and a devastating injury -- but you would be wrong.
On June 3, 2011, Fata Krluc, a 51-year-old hotel housekeeper, was walking on the sidewalk of 103rd Avenue, near 93rd Street, in Ozone Park of Queens. A minivan driven by Francisco Mena entered the intersection, hit another van, and careened up the sidewalk, struck Fata. The woman was pinned to the stoop on the sidewalk where she was walking moments before.
Her life shifted in an instant. Krluc suffered injuries to her head, face, neck, shoulder, ribs, chest, and back. She lost con- sciousness and was placed in an ambulance to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center in Queens. She underwent a craniectomy due to her brain injury and was hospitalized for 48 days. In February
2013, she underwent a cranioplasty to repair the area of her skull that was removed during her craniectomy.
Krluc has suffered permanent brain damage along with confu- sion, depression, loss of memory and impairment of other ele- ments of her cognition. Due to her injuries, her attorney argued that she could not return to work and would eventually have to rely on a residential nurse’s aide.
Krluc’s attorney argues that the City of New York was respon- sible for the accident because it failed to trim back the leaves of the trees on the intersection and subsequently obscured the traf c signs.
“The city was responsible to make sure that all traffic signs were visible. There were complaints made about this intersec- tion to the city and they were supposed to send out supervi- sors and safety agents from the Forestry Agency, which is in charge of cutting back the trees,” said Stephen Murphy, Krluc’s attorney.
The city settled right before the trial -- much to Murphy’s sur- prise. “We didn’t expect that to happen because we wanted the city to pay a very sizable amount of money and the city is very tough,” said Murphy. “To their credit, they realized that there was a great deal of exposure here and that there was a tragedy here.”
Krluc still suffers from her brain injuries and is now dependent on her children for help. She was awarded $8.8 million in damages.
Lurie, Ilchert, MacDonnell & Ryan is located in New York City and concentrates their practice in personal injury law. The rm’s experienced attorneys have obtained more than 100 recoveries of $1,000,000 or more for their clients.
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