Trial News

Pamela Harris, 49, boarded a transit bus with her granddaughter. The bus began to move as she was walking to her seat but then stopped violently, causing Harris to fall to the floor. She suffered injuries to her cervical spine, including a herniated disk at C4-5, and later underwent cervical fusion surgery. She also required chiropractic care and physical therapy for approximately 16 months. Her medical expenses totaled $75,000.

Harris sued the operator of the bus, alleging liability for its driver’s negligent operation of the vehicle. The plaintiff asserted that the driver should not have slammed on the brakes so suddenly after departing the bus stop.

The defense argued that Harris’s injuries were preexisting and that the fall resulted from her failure to hold on to one of the bus’s railings while walking to her seat.

The parties settled for $800,000.

Citation: Harris v. Metro. Transp. Auth., No. 703309/17 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. Queens Cty. Nov. 21, 2019).

Plaintiff counsel: AAJ member Daniella Levi and Eliyahu Levi, both of Fresh Meadows, N.Y.

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