XIX/27-36 BUS ACCIDENT - PEDESTRIAN - WRONGFUL DEATH OF 10- YEAR-OLD SON PSYCHOLOGICAL INJURIES ZONE OF DANGER NEGLIGENT INFLICTION OF EMOTIONAL DISTRESS

SETTLEMENT: Alicia C. v. Mountainside Transportation Co., Inc. and Raymond Secreti 47698/99 Date of Settlement 11/21/01 Kings Supreme

Pltf. Atty: Daniel P. Buttafuoco of Buttafuoco & Associates, Woodbury

Deft. Atty: Blane Magee, Garden City

This action settled for $2,000,000 before opening statements. On 12/6/99, Pltf., a 38-year-old nanny and mother of two, was walking her 10- year-old son, D., to school at approximately 8 AM when this accident occurred at the comer of Baxter and Broadway in Elmhurst, Queens. Testimony indicated that it was raining at the time. Pltf., who spoke only Spanish and used an interpreter at deposition, claimed that she began to cross the street in the crosswalk on Broadway with a green light in her favor when she was struck by Deft.'s bus, driven by Deft. Secreti, as it made a left turn from Broadway onto Baxter. Pltf. was thrown approximately 20 feet away from the bus by the impact; her son was killed when he was run over by the wheels of the bus. Note: The settlement includes an award of $150,000 for the child's estate on his wrongful death claim. Deft. would have argued that Pltf. was contributorily negligent for the occurrence of the accident based on her deposition testimony that she did not see the bus before impact. Deft. would also have contended that Pltf. had no claim for significant lost wages, based on her $250 per week salary as a nanny/child care provider. Pltf., an illegal alien who was trained as a nurse in her native country of Paraguay, would have claimed projected lost earnings of $2,500,000, based on a nurse s salary. Deft., however, would have claimed that Pltf. could not work as a nurse in the United States because of her immigration status and inability to speak English.

Injuries: soft tissue injuries including bulging cervical and thoracic discs, confirmed by MRI; cervical radiculopathy; negligent infliction of emotional distress; post-traumatic stress disorder. Pltf. claimed that she suffered psychological injuries for being in the zone of danger. She received psychological treatment and claimed that she is completely psychologically disabled as the result of witnessing her son's death. Carrier: Lancer Insurance.

Pltf. Experts: Pltf. would have called Dr. Pedro Rodriguez, psychologist, Manhattan; Dr. John Wilson, Ph.D., psychologist, Forensic Center for Traumatic Stress, Cleveland Heights, Ohio; Dr. Aric Hausknecht, neurologist, Hewlett.

Deft. Expert: Deft. would have called Dr. Monette Basson, neurologist, Woodside; Dr. Robert Palumbo, psychologist, New Hyde Park; Dr. Raymond Koval, orth. surg., Elmhurst; James Pascuiti, vocational rehabilitation, Springfield, New Jersey.