Paralyzed cyclist
BROOKLYN, N.Y. — A man paralyzed by a beam that New York City Transit Authority workers dropped on him from an elevated subway platform received an enormous jury verdict in Brooklyn, New York. The NY Post reported that the specific amount the jury awarded the plaintiff was $110,174,972.38 in compensation for his losses. The MTA, through a spokesperson, said that the jury award was “absurdly large” and the agency intends to ask the presiding judge to reduce the award and take an appeal. There is no court date set for any post-trial hearings.
The plaintiff was just 23-years-old when that fateful day he rode his bicycle in the area of Broadway Avenue in the Bushwick section of Brooklyn. The plaintiff told the jury during the trial that a construction worker waived him through the construction zone beneath the J and M elevated line. The cyclist’s next memory was regaining consciousness in a hospital bed. The cyclist had no idea what happened to him.
An investigation into the event revealed that an NYC Transit Authority construction supervisor instructed two employees to remove a railroad tie measuring 10-feet in length and drop it to the ground. Tragically, the 23-year-old cyclist just received confirmation from the other employee that it was safe to proceed. The railroad tie landed on the young man and fractured his spine, rendering him a person with paraplegia. The permanently injured plaintiff alleged that the MTA failed to use appropriate safety measures to keep pedestrians, bicycle riders, and other people away from the dangerous construction area.
The jury award was some measure of comfort for the plaintiff, who now lives in a nursing home. However, his attorneys said that no matter how much of a monetary award he received, he can only heal on a spiritual level because he cannot heal physically. The defense argued that the plaintiff should have appreciated the danger and avoided the area.
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