New York Personal Injury Lawyers Ben B. Rubinowitz and Christopher J. Donadio Obtain a $5 Million Settlement for a pedestrian struck by a van

Our NY personal injury law firm is proud to announce that our attorneys Ben. B. Rubinowitz and Christopher J. Donadio obtained a $5 million settlement during trial involving a pedestrian injured in a van accident that occurred in Manhattan.

The case involved a New York City Department of Transportation van that struck and ran over the plaintiff on February 15, 2013 at the intersection of 6^th Avenue and 31^st Street in Manhattan.  The plaintiff, Hui Sang Park, was a college student on her way to class when she was hit by the van within the crosswalk. Following the collision, the driver of the van, city employee Richard Brooms, admitted to police officers at the scene that he never saw Ms. Park before he struck her and that he had no idea where she came from.

Ms. Park was taken from the scene by ambulance to New York Presbyterian Hospital. At the hospital, she was diagnosed with severe injuries including a comminuted open fracture of the tibia and fibula, a tibial plateau fracture, pelvic fractures, a sacral fracture, a right wrist fracture and a fracture to her shoulder. In addition to her fractures, while in the hospital, Ms. Park developed compartment syndrome in her lower leg, requiring an emergency fasciotomy. In addition to the fasciotomy, Ms. Park underwent multiple surgeries, which required the insertion of hardware in her leg, knee, pelvis and wrist.

In the hours after the incident, the driver of the van, Mr. Brooms, completed an incident report and submitted it to his employer, the New York City Department of Transportation. Despite admitting to the police officers at the scene that he did not see Ms. Park before he struck her, he stated in his incident report that prior to the collision Ms. Park had come from between two parked vans, tripped and fell under his van as he was driving on 31^st street. Mr. Brooms then completed two MV-104 forms that were filed with the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles making similar allegations.

During the litigation, Mr. Brooms appeared at a deposition. While being questioned by senior partner Anthony H. Gair, who litigated the case prior to trial, Mr. Brooms admitted that he did not see Ms. Park prior to striking her with his van. He attempted to explain that his incident reports were based on “speculation” and not on what really occurred.  A copy of Anthony H. Gair’s questioning of Mr. Brooms can be found here.

The case proceeded to trial in front of the Honorable James d’Auguste in New York Supreme Court, New York County on November 1, 2016. Ms. Park was represented by attorneys Ben B. Rubinowitz and Christopher J. Donadio at trial. A copy of Ben B. Rubinowitz’s opening statement can be found here.

At trial, Mr. Brooms was subjected to intense cross examination by Ben B. Rubinowitz. After hours of questioning, Mr. Brooms finally conceded that the reports he filed post-accident were “false”. He admitted that he never saw Ms. Park walk into the street from between vans, nor did he see her trip and fall under his van. A copy of Ben B. Rubinowitz’s cross examination of Mr. Brooms can be found here.

On the following trial day after Mr. Brooms’ testimony was completed, the case was settled in the amount of $5 million dollars.