$14,000,000 Jury Verdict for Motorcyclist Hit by Truck

Our client was riding his motorcycle in Long Island when he was struck by a truck which was attempting to make a left turn. He ultimately required over 10 surgeries, including a below-the-knee amputation. Represented by Block O’Toole & Murphy, he was awarded $14,000,000.

Court and County
Supreme Nassau

Plaintiff Description
23-year-old tow truck operator and mechanic

Description of Case
Our client was riding his motorcycle to his girlfriend’s house in Oyster Bay, Nassau County, which was a trip that he made every day. He was wearing appropriate safety gear at the time, including a helmet, long pants, boots, a long-sleeved shirt and goggles.

After about 10 minutes on the road, he came to the intersection of North Broadway and North Wisconsin Ave. At that time, there was a truck attempting to make a left turn at the intersection, but a parked box truck obscured his view of oncoming traffic.

The Defendant truck driver made a left turn anyway, causing him to strike our client as he tried to pass straight through the intersection. The driver of the box truck who witnessed the crash later stated that the Defendant truck operator appeared to be frustrated that he didn’t have visibility of the intersection and that, as a result, he “gunned it.”

Witnesses at the scene mentioned that our client’s motorcycle was especially loud because it was a Harley Davidson, and that its bright chrome paint job made it easy to see.

Injuries
Our client was violently thrown from his motorcycle when he was hit. Once they realized what had happened, men from the parked box truck got out and began to assist him, giving him water and using a sweatshirt as a tourniquet on his leg. An off-duty nurse who witnessed the accident and its aftermath later stated that if this makeshift tourniquet had not been applied, our client may have lost his life due to blood loss.

Emergency services soon arrived and reapplied a tourniquet, and our client was helicoptered to Nassau University Medical Center Trauma Unit. The first surgery performed was to amputate his leg; the next was to place a rod into the femur along with screws that hold the femur into the hip and knee. By the end of his initial hospital stay, our client had undergone over 10 surgeries and had been diagnosed with the following injuries:

• Complete disruption of the fibula from its proximal and distal attachments
• Severely comminuted proximal tibia fracture
• Midshaft diaphyseal femur fracture requiring open reduction-internal fixation surgery (ORIF) with installation of intramedullary rod

Our client was informed that he would never be able to work in a job which required physical activity. He also had limitations regarding prolonged sitting, effectively making future employment an impossibility.

Verdict Amount
$14,000,000

Handling Attorneys
This case was handled by Partners Daniel P. O’Toole and Jeffrey A. Block