January 19, 2009
SETTLEMENT NETS $2.5M FOR WOMAN'S ESTATE
John P. Bohannon, Jr., as administrator of the Estate of Kazimiera Dolik, deceased v. Action Carting Environmental SVC Inc. and Charles Patterson: Stratton Faxon, a New Haven-based law firm, is expanding its practice into New York, where it has recently won a $2.5 million settlement for the estate of a Polish immigrant who died about two months after being hit by a sanitation truck.
Kazimiera Dolik, 67, was run down by the Action Carting Environmental sanitation truck driven by Charles Patterson on Sept. 21, 2006 as she was crossing Broadway in Brooklyn, N.Y.
According to one of Dolik’s attorneys, Michael Stratton, of Stratton Faxon, the victim began to walk across the street while Patterson’s light was still red. But it turned green while Dolik was still in the intersection. Patterson apparently did not see Dolik due to an insect deflector that caused a blind spot on his truck.
The truck drove directly into Dolik, and its wheels crushed both of her legs near the top of her femurs. According to Stratton, the trauma surgeon at Bellevue Hospital described Dolik’s injuries as the worst non-burn injuries he had ever seen someone survive, even for a short period.
Dolik, who earned about $16,000 annually as a cleaning person, underwent multiple surgeries during the next 56 days, when she was in and out of a coma. When she was conscious, she was aware of her condition, said Stratton. She died in the hospital.
Stratton said that the doctors described the injury as excruciatingly painful, but he acknowledged that it was not easy to prove in the lawsuit how much pain Dolik felt.
The lawyer for the truck’s insurance company, Brian P. Morrissey, of New York’s Gallagher, Gosseen, Faller & Crowley, claimed that Dolik’s failure to follow the pedestrian walk signal was the true cause of the accident. He argued that the cross signal was flashing “Don’t Walk, Don’t Walk” when she entered the road. Police also determined that the accident was Dolik’s fault.
Stratton, however, said that the plaintiffs’ attorneys were able to prove that Patterson never saw Dolik because of the blind spot. They also obtained testimony from a trucking expert, who said that in cities with lots of pedestrians drivers must look left to right during red lights to ensure nobody has entered the roadway.
The case was filed in U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of New York. Stratton said he and law firm partner Joel Faxon opted to file the lawsuit in federal court because they felt the case would move faster and that the compensation would be higher than if it were filed in a New York trial court.
To clear the way for a federal court claim, a second jurisdiction had to be involved. So Dolik’s estate was probated in Bridgeport, Conn., and all of her personal belongings were shipped to Stratton Faxon’s Bridgeport office. Defense lawyers vehemently fought against the federal court jurisdiction, accusing Stratton Faxon of acting fraudulently in moving Dolik’s property to Connecticut just to facilitate a federal court claim. Their challenges, however, were unsuccessful.
Stratton Faxon’s next challenge was to maximize the compensation. Dolik’s medical bills alone topped out at nearly $200,000.
Stratton explained that because Dolik was single, in her late 60s and had no dependents, her federal court claim could cover only pain and suffering damages. In Connecticut state courts, she would have been eligible to receive compensation for loss of life’s enjoyment award and future work earnings.
“Unlike Connecticut, New York severely restricts wrongful death recoveries in cases like this to include only ante-mortem pain and suffering and medical expenses,” Stratton explained. “The $2.5 million represents purely pain and suffering under New York law, which from our review is well above any other reported verdict that we found.”
Stratton said the settlement was agreed upon in principal a couple months ago right before the trial was to start. He said the agreement was finalized earlier this month.
