2. By John Hochfelder on March 31, 2013 Posted in
Wrist Injuries
On June 4, 2008 at about 11:30 p.m., Drucilla
Alfonso was crossing the intersection at 39th
Street and Third Avenue in Manhattan, in the
crosswalk, when she was struck by a left turning
city bus. The force of the impact spun her
around, causing her to fall to the ground.
39th Street at Third Avenue in Manhattan
3. Alfonso, 52 years old, was taken by ambulance
to the local hospital where she was diagnosed
with a right (dominant) distal radius fracture (a
broken wrist) that was casted initially but
required open reduction internal fixation
surgery two weeks later.
Bones of the Wrist and Hand
4. In her ensuing lawsuit, the bus driver was found
fully at fault and a Manhattan jury awarded Ms.
Alfonso pain and suffering damages in the sum
of $1,250,000 ($450,000 past – three years,
$800,000 future – 27 years).
On appeal, the defendants challenged only
the amount of the award, claiming it was
excessive; however, the entire award has been
affirmed in Alfonso v. Metropolitan Transit
Authority (1st Dept. 2013).
Here are the wrist injury details:
• comminuted intra-articular fracture of the distal
radial metaphysis with dorsal angulation of the
distal fracture fragment
• open reduction internal fixation (ORIF) of wrist
fracture with 11 screws drilled into and through
the bones and insertion of a metal plate to
anchor the screws
5. • follow-up wrist treatment twice a week for three
months
• unable to return to work until 10 months after
the accident
• constant pain and diminished grip strength
6. Post-ORIF Surgery
• Plaintiff also claimed other injuries caused by
the accident:
• right shoulder pain requiring there months of
outpatient hospital treatment with permanent
limitations of range of motion
• aggravation of cervical herniated disc at C5-6
The defendants urged that plaintiff made only a
half-hearted attempt to link the herniation and
shoulder claims to the accident trauma and
that her case should stand or fall on the wrist
injury and nothing more.
The defendants argued, unsuccessfully, that the
pain and suffering award of $1,250,000
“exceeds by a factor of at least two an amount
that qualifies as reasonable compensation.”
7. • As to the wrist, they noted that plaintiff
underwent only one surgery and would not
need another, she ceased all medical
treatment well over a year before trial and she
was able to return to her job that included
typing less than a year after the accident.
• As to the shoulder, any pain or mild limitations
were simply a byproduct of the wrist injury.
• As to the neck, plaintiff made no allegations in
her bill of particulars dated October 13, 2008;
she first alleged this injury in her supplemental
bill of particulars in November 2009. Also,
plaintiff made no mention of neck pain in her
testimony and her attorney made no mention
of this injury in either his opening or closing
statement.
• The parties agreed with the appellate court
that the decisions in three prior cases are
relevant and instructive in determining the
propriety of the amount of the pain and
suffering award in this case.
8. All three involve distal radius fractures requiring
one or more surgeries.
• Diouf v. New York City Transit Authority (1st
Dept. 2010) – $1,000,000 for 55 year old man
with bilateral fractures (discussed by us
previously, here)
• Hayes v. Normandie LLC (1st Dept. 2003) –
$985,000 for 57 year old man
• Cabezas v. City of New York (1st Dept. 2003) –
$900,000 for 50 year old man
POSTED BY ATTORNEY RENE G. GARCIA:
For more information:- Some of our clients have
suffered this kind of injuries due to a serious accident.
The Garcia Law Firm, P.C. was able to successfully
handle these types of cases. For a free consultation
please call us at 1-866- SCAFFOLD or 212-725-1313.
http://www.newyorkinjurycasesblog.com/