| Halsey v New York City Tr. Auth. |
| 2014 NY Slip Op 00964 [114 AD3d 726] |
| February 13, 2014 |
| Appellate Division, Second Department |
| Tiffany M. Halsey, Respondent, v New York CityTransit Authority et al., Appellants. |
—[*1] Elliot Ifraimoff & Associates, P.C. (Pollack, Pollack, Isaac & De Cicco, New York,N.Y. [Brian J. Isaac and Michael H. Zhu], of counsel), for respondent.
In an action to recover damages for personal injuries, the defendants appeal, aslimited by their brief, from so much of a judgment of the Supreme Court, Queens County(Ritholtz, J.), entered May 10, 2012, as, upon a jury verdict, is in favor of the plaintiffand against them in the principal sum of $3,000,000 for future pain and suffering.
Ordered that the judgment is affirmed insofar as appealed from, with costs.
On June 25, 2008, the plaintiff was injured when a bus on which she was riding,which was owned by the defendant New York City Transit Authority and driven by thedefendant Eugena Quinn, struck a utility pole. The plaintiff sustained injuries including,inter alia, a protruding disc in the lumbar spine, radiculopathy, torn rotator cuff withimpingement in her right shoulder, and a torn triceps tendon in her right elbow. As aresult, the plaintiff underwent a laminectomy and fusion on her lumbar spine, as well assurgeries to repair her right shoulder and elbow. A jury found in favor of the plaintiff andagainst the defendants and, inter alia, awarded the plaintiff the principal sum of$3,000,000 for future pain and suffering. The defendants contend that the award ofdamages for future pain and suffering was excessive.
"The amount of damages to be awarded to a plaintiff for personal injuries is aquestion for the jury, and its determination will not be disturbed unless the awarddeviates materially from what would be reasonable compensation" (Graves v New York City Tr.Auth., 81 AD3d 589, 589 [2011]; see CPLR 5501 [c]; Shipley v City of New York,105 AD3d 936 [2013], lv granted 22 NY3d 857 [2013]; Deandinov New York City Tr. Auth., 105 AD3d 801 [2013]; Guallpa v Key Fat Corp., 98AD3d 650 [2012]). "The reasonableness of compensation must be measured againstrelevant precedent of comparable cases" (Kayes v Liberati, 104 AD3d 739, 741 [2013] [internalquotation marks omitted]; seeTuruseta v Wyassup-Laurel Glen Corp., 91 AD3d 632 [2012]).
Here, the plaintiff, 27 years old at the time of trial, suffered from severe lower backpain that radiated into her legs and restricted her range of motion. She suffered from discprotrusion, [*2]foraminal stenosis, and radiculopathy.After physical therapy, pain medications, and epidural injections failed to alleviate herpain, the plaintiff underwent a laminectomy and fusion surgery, in which a piece of thedisc was removed and a bone graft was fused to replace the removed disc. Following thesurgery, the pain in the plaintiff's lower back did not improve and she had significantrestrictions in her range of motion. She continued physical therapy, pain medications, andepidural injections. The plaintiff's expert concluded that the injuries to her lower backwere permanent. He continued to observe restrictions in her range of motion and lumbaratrophy. He concluded that the plaintiff's back pain will worsen, and that she will need tocontinue to take pain, anti-inflammatory, and muscle relaxer medications. Further, theinjuries hindered the previously active plaintiff's ability to participate in athletic activitiesand activities with her children, and made daily tasks, such as cooking and cleaning, verydifficult. As a result of the fusion, other parts of the plaintiff's spine were subject todegeneration. Considering the nature and the extent of the injuries sustained by theplaintiff, and the fact that the award of damages for future pain and suffering representedcompensation for a period of 54 years based on the plaintiff's life expectancy, the awarddid not deviate materially from what would be reasonable compensation (seeCPLR 5501 [c]; Kayes vLiberati, 104 AD3d 739 [2013]; Guallpa v Key Fat Corp., 98 AD3d 650 [2012]). Skelos,J.P., Lott, Cohen and Hinds-Radix, JJ., concur.