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$1,000,000 result- cited in VerdictSearch New York
Motor Vehicle – Passenger – Transportation – Bus – Bus rider
claimed driver didn’t secure her wheelchair
SETTLEMENT: $1,000,000
CASE: Ruth Kellner v. Metropolitan Transportation Authority;
N.Y.C.T.A. and American Transit Inc. and Cornelius Adams, No.
25945/04
COURT: Bronx Supreme
JUDGE: Kenneth A. Thompson
DATE: 3/17/2006
PLAINTIFF ATTORNEY(S): Alan M. Greenberg, Law Offices of Alan M.
Greenberg, P.C.. New York, NY
DEFENSE ATTORNEY(S): Philip Smith, Morris Duffy Alonso & Faley
LLP, New York, NY
FACTS & ALLEGATIONS: On July 19, 2004, plaintiff Ruth Kellner,
71, a retiree, was a passenger of an Access-A-Ride minibus that
was being driven by Cornelius Adams. Kellner was seated in her
husband’s old wheelchair on board the bus, on her way to a
doctor’s appointment in the Bronx. Adams drove for a few blocks
until reaching the Henry Hudson Parkway’s north service road, 50
feet south of 232nd Street, where a parked car suddenly pulled
away from curb, cutting off the minibus. Adams stopped abruptly
and the impact propelled Kellner from the wheelchair onto the
floor. She claimed that she sustained leg injuries.
Kellner sued Adams; the minibus’s owners, the Metropolitan
Transportation Authority and the New York City Transit
Authority; and Adams’ employer, who leased the minibus, American
Transit Inc. She alleged that Adams was negligent in his failure
to properly secure her wheelchair and that the remaining
defendants were vicariously liable for Adams’ actions.
Kellner claimed that when she boarded, Adams tied down her
wheelchair but failed to strap and belt her using the bus’s
restraint system. She and her home-care aide, who had
accompanied her on the minibus, testified that she was thrown
from her wheelchair onto the minibus floor and that she then
rolled across the floor and landed in front of the bus’
stairwell.
The parties stipulated before openings that the bus’s seat-belt
system was in good working order and that there was no issue of
it being defective.
Adams claimed that he did strap and belt Kellner using the bus’s
restraint system. He further testified that Kellner was never
ejected to the floor but merely slumped down in her wheelchair.
INJURIES/DAMAGES: fracture, displaced; fracture, fibula;
fracture, tibia; fracture, tibial plateau; internal fixation;
open reduction; plate; screws
Adams transported Kellner to the Allen Pavilion emergency room,
in Manhattan, where she was diagnosed with a Schatzker-V1
fracture of the left tibial plateau, or an explosive crushed,
displaced fracture of the left proximal tibia and fibula. She
was admitted for three weeks and underwent open reduction and
internal fixation of a plate and eight screws.
Kellner was transferred to the Jewish Home and Hospital for
rehabilitation on Aug. 8, 2004, and she remained there until
going home on Nov 11, 2004. She was thereafter confined to bed
at home until Jan. 1, 2005, and she required 24-hour in-home
care during the following four months. Beginning in April 2005,
and continuing to the present, Kellner requires 10 hours of home
care every day. A CT Scan in April 2005 revealed a non-union at
the fracture site.
Prior to the incident on the bus, Kellner was an emphysema
patient with limited activities because of her dependency on
oxygen. She also suffered multiple systemic health issues, which
all were controlled by medication. However, she contended that,
with the help of a companion for several hours each day, she had
been able to shop, clean and care for herself. She was a
frequent user of Access-a-Ride to go to doctors and to visit her
husband, who has been confined to a local nursing home since
suffering a stroke. Since the accident, she claimed that she has
been confined to a wheelchair and can only stand briefly with
the aid of a walker. She sought recovery of damages for her past
and future pain and suffering.
RESULT: After the trial’s third day, the parties agreed to a
$1 million settlement.
INSURER(S): Self-insured Metropolitan Transportation
Authority ($1 million). Discover Property & Casualty Insurance
Co., Metropolitan Transportation Authority ($2 million excess
coverage)
PLAINTIFF EXPERT(S): William J. Kulak, M.D., orthopedic
surgery, New York, NY. John McManus. P.E, seat belts, Purchase,
NY
DEFENSE EXPERT(S): Dr. Hubert S. Pearlman, orthopedics,
Brooklyn, NY (did not. testify)
—Joanna Bonfiglio
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