$7,000,000 Settlement for 9-Year-Old Pedestrian Struck by Truck While Crossing Street in Hempstead, NY

Partners Daniel P. O’Toole and Frederick C. Aranki represented the student, who suffered devastating permanent injuries in the accident.

Court and County

Supreme Court, Nassau County

Devastating Truck Accident Occurs on the Way to School

It was a rainy winter morning when our client, a 9-year-old girl, walked to school with her younger brother. It was a route they had followed many times before, and they knew it well. That morning, however, it would be different – as the pair crossed the street (with the signal in their favor), a truck at the stop light suddenly started to move forward.

Our client had just enough time to shove her brother out of the way before the truck hit her, pushing her to the ground and pinning her underneath the vehicle. Witnesses who saw the accident waved down the truck driver, who stopped the vehicle in the middle of the crosswalk.

Our client was rushed to the hospital, where she would spend nearly a month receiving treatment for her severe injuries. She sustained serious lacerations along her thigh and hip, multiple fractures, and an internal degloving injury that required an open reduction internal fixation surgery to repair.

Investigating the Intersection and Preserving Key Truck Evidence

When Partners Daniel P. O’Toole and Frederick C. Aranki began investigating the case, the extent of the defendant’s liability was initially uncertain. Though the defendant driver had clearly violated New York Vehicle and Traffic laws by failing to exercise care to avoid a collision, our attorneys suspected there was more to the story. To make their arguments as strong as possible – and to give our client the best chance for a favorable result – they looked deeper at both the truck and the intersection.

Aranki, with help from Partner Scott Occhiogrosso, began by surveying the intersection, looking for any evidence that may have contributed to the accident. To view the intersection from the truck driver’s perspective, Occhiogrosso hopped on a city bus and watched the intersection approach. From his high angle, he noted that it would have been difficult to see two children crossing the street without a proper front mirror.

This observation became crucial once our attorneys reviewed pictures of the truck taken just before its trip on the day of the accident. The images, which were obtained during a truck inspection conducted with an accident reconstruction expert, revealed that one of the truck’s front mirrors was misaligned. No one had fixed the mirror, even though the cost to replace it would have been minimal. As a result, the driver left with a significant blind spot in his vision – one that would ultimately prevent him from seeing the children, leading to the collision.

The Lasting Impact of Childhood Injuries

Our client’s injuries were so severe that they will likely affect her for the rest of her life – such significant trauma to the joint at a young age can cause lifelong chronic pain, mobility issues, and arthritis. Years after the accident, our client still struggled to walk without assistance, and she will likely never be able to participate in after school sports and other physical activities with friends. She also continues to endure profound emotional suffering, including severe PTSD.

Moreover, five years had passed: she was only nine years old when the accident occurred, and 14 when the case was approaching settlement. The accident robbed her of her childhood, as she was forced to miss out on school, extracurricular activities, parties with friends, and other milestones for children of her age.

It would be impossible to compensate her fully for this loss, but our attorneys still fought to help improve her quality of life and set her up for a better future. Though most minors cannot allege lost wages, our attorneys could still make claims for past and future medical care and past and future pain and suffering. They highlighted the immense cost of our client’s surgeries, hospital stays, rehabilitation, and future treatments, along with the mental and emotional impact of the accident.

After years of litigation, our attorneys successfully settled the case for $7,000,000. The money was placed in a structured settlement which allows her to access the funds when she turns 18. The money will help ensure she receives the ongoing medical care she needs and help both her and her family move forward from such a tragic accident.

Settlement Amount

This case was settled for $7,000,000.

Handling Attorneys

This case was handled by Partners Daniel P. O’Toole and Frederick C. Aranki.