PERSONAL INJURY VERDICT: $ 2.782 million
New York Law Journal
June 10, 1997
Compiled by Bruce Balestier
Tawaon Fields v. Transit Authority, 8680/94
Supreme Court, Bronx County, May 19, 1997.
JUDGE: Joseph N. Giamboi.
ATTORNEYS: Herbert L. Waichman and James G. Fitsimons of Parker Waichman Alonso LLP, Great Neck, for Tawaon Fields.
Rudolph N. Silas, Brooklyn, for New York City Transit Authority.
DISBURSEMENT: $ 200,000 (past pain and suffering); $ 2.5 million (future pain and suffering); $ 16,000 (past medicals); $ 66,000 (future medicals).
FACTS: Tawaon Fields, then 27 years old, suffered a broken ankle on Aug. 30, 1993 when she fell while exiting the subway station on the 1 line at 242nd St. and Broadway in the Bronx.
Plaintiff alleged that the floor planks at the station were warped and worn, with excessive gaps, and that her injury was caused when she stepped into a gap in the planks and fell. Defendant argued that there was nothing wrong with the flooring at the stop, and that the plaintiff was entirely responsible for the accident.
JURY TRIAL: Trial lasted two weeks, with one hour of deliberations.
INJURIES: Plaintiff alleged she suffered a fracture dislocation of her right ankle, resulting in fixed equinus deformity and requiring future ankle fusion.
June 19, 1997
