A woman tripped and fell on broken concrete at the entrance of her workplace, fracturing her coccyx and herniating a disc in her back. She was unable to return to work due to pain and was determined disabled. A jury found the building owners negligent and responsible for her injuries, awarding her $80,000 for future medical expenses but nothing for pain and suffering. An appeals court then reduced a second jury's $2.2 million pain and suffering award to $1.15 million, upholding other damages. Though reduced, the pain and suffering award was still significant for these types of orthopedic injuries without surgery.

1. Back and Coccyx Injuries from Trip and Fall – Appeals Court
Orders $1,000,000 Reduction of Pain and Suffering Verdict
On January 27, 2003, at about 9:45 a.m., Lucille
Turuseta was walking into the rear entrance of an
office building at 175 Main Street in White Plains
where she worked as the office manager for a
court reporting firm. As she opened the door, Ms.
Turuseta’s right foot became caught in broken
cement causing her to fall to the ground.
She fell and sustained a fractured coccyx and a
herniated disc at L4-5.
Fractured coccyx:

2. Although she tried to return to work on several occasions, Ms.
Turuseta claimed she was unable to do so due to unremitting pain.
And, within four months, she was determined to have sustained a
major depressive episode.
Then, the Social Security Administration determined that, as of
August 2003, Ms. Turuseta had become disabled (i.e., unable to
do any substantial gainful activity because of her physical and/or
mental impairments).
In January 2008, a Westchester County jury determined that the
building owner and manager were negligent and fully responsible
for plaintiff’s injuries because broken concrete near the door
saddle was a dangerous defect that they knew of several months
earlier and could have repaired for $200.

3. The same jury then awarded Ms. Tursueta $80,000solely for her future
medical expenses while awarding her nothing at all for her pain and
suffering.
The trial judge agreed with plaintiff that the verdict awarding $80,000
appeared to be an impermissible compromise – how could a jury award her
future medical expenses (the figure corresponded with the amount her
doctors testified would be needed for future coccyx and spinal surgeries)
but nothing for pain and suffering? The $80,000 verdict was set aside and a
new trial ordered on the issue of damages.
Ms. Turuseta testified that the unremitting pain in her back and coccyx was
not relieved with extensive pain medication, trigger point injections or facet
block injections. She hobbled to the stand with a cane and said she was in
substantial pain even while sitting on a pillow and using pain relief
medicine.
Her doctors testified that she had substantial limitations bending and lifting
and that she could not perform even light jobs. SSEP tests demonstrated
irritation of the nerve roots in her legs and Ms. Tursueta was diagnosed with
lumbar radiculopathy, a chronic pain condition characterized by leg pain
with tingling, numbness or weakness that travels from the low back through
the buttock and down the large sciatic nerve in the back of the leg.

4. On July 2, 2009, the second jury awarded plaintiff pain
and suffering damages in the sum of $2,219,229
($576,867 past – 6 years, $2,219,229 future – 28 years).
Now, in Turuseta v. Wyassup-Laurel Glen Corp. (2d
Dept. 2012), the appellate court has agreed with the
defendants that the pain and suffering award was
excessive and ruled that it should be reduced to
$1,150,000 ($400,000 past, $750,000 future). The
appellate court also upheld the loss of earnings award
in the sum of about $840,000 and future household
expenses in the sum of $90,000.
Although reduced by slightly more than $1,000,000, the
resulting pain and suffering award of $1,150,000
nonetheless stands as a very significant sum upheld out
of the usually conservative Westchester County for
orthopedic injuries that hadn’t required surgery as of
the trial date.

5. Inside Information:
In seeking to set aside the first verdict, plaintiff’s counsel
proposed an amount of $1,000,000 for total pain and
suffering – $900,000 for his client’s physical injuries plus
$100,000 for her depression. In his summation at the
second trial, counsel asked the jury to award $1,650,000
for pain and suffering (without suggesting a division
between her physical and psychological injuries).
At the time of her accident, Ms. Turuseta’s employer was
her best friend and testified on her behalf. And that
woman’s husband was Ms. Turuseta’s attorney in this
case. In closing arguments, her attorney stated: "I know
this lady. I like this lady. She was my friend. She is my
friend."
X-rays on the date of the accident indicated there was no
fracture of the coccyx; it wasn’t until a few days later that
another x-ray clearly identified the fracture.
http://www.newyorkinjurycasesblog.com

6. POSTED BY ATTORNEY RENE G. GARCIA
Some of our clients have suffered
these kinds of injuries due to a serious
accident or malpractice. 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.