NewYorkInjuryNews.com, On December 10, 2001, an F train hit Alice Huang, an 18 year-old college student, when she bent over to pick up her bible on the 23rd Street subway station platform. Her head was only inches away from the train when suddenly the train jolted forward and started to accelerate.
The side of the train clipped her head causing her to spin several times and lose recollection of the event. Ms. Huang’s left leg became entangled between cars and the moving train dragged her for more than 40 feet.
Surgeons initially struggled to keep Ms. Huang alive. She bled profusely for the first 6 hours.
As a result of the accident, bones in Ms. Huang’s hips were crushed and broken. Although heroic efforts by an emergency trauma team at Bellevue Hospital allowed Alice to save her left leg, injuries to her nerves and soft tissues caused some permanent functional impairment.
Ms. Huang will also live with severe pain and scarring for the rest of her life.
A New York County jury found the New York City Transit Authority negligent and 100% liable for all of Ms. Huang’s injuries. The Jury faulted the TA conductor for not carefully observing the platform before starting the train. Had he complied with the subway rule requiring him to look both ways, the terrible accident would have been avoided, concluded the jury.
The plaintiff was awarded a verdict of $28,574,587 by the jury, which was later modified by an appellate court to a final total judgment of $12,174,053.
About David Dean: David Dean, who joined the Firm of Sullivan Papain Block McGrath & Cannavo P.C. has over a decade of experience as a nationally recognized trial attorney.
Mr. Dean was the Chief Trial Counsel for the plaintiffs in the Agent Orange Class Action, representing more than two million Vietnam Veterans in their claims against seven chemical companies. His work was described in published Federal Court decisions as “extraordinary” and of “exceptional quality.” David’s exceptional trial skills were evident in the trial of the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center. All the plaintiffs’ lawyers in that case directed that David should be the lead trial attorney and as a result, David obtained an unprecedented verdict against the Port Authority for its failure to take steps to prevent the terrorist attack. In a suit against New York City, Mr. Dean recovered a $41 million dollar verdict for our client. A technicality caused the judge to order a new trial and the resulting $92 million dollar verdict was the largest jury verdict in the New York State in the year 2000! David won a $25 million verdict for a laborer injured at a worksite, and he secured a $14.6 million verdict for a woman who lost part of her hand and suffered serious head injuries when she was run over by a City subway train. Additional verdicts against the Transit Authority in the sum of $28.5 million for a woman whose leg was severely injured when she was struck by a train, and a $19.5 million for a man who was caught and dragged by a subway car made David the only attorney in the State who had two of the top ten highest awards in the State for 2004. Such results are only a small sample of his work, which has earned him a respected and feared trial reputation. A 1961 graduate of Georgetown Law Center, David joined the firm in 1997 and has been a Member since 1999. He has often lectured at various national, state and local bar associations on all aspects of trial practice.
About Sullivan Papain Block McGrath & Cannavo P.C.
New York Personal Injury, trial Law Firm of Sullivan Papain Block McGrath & Cannavo, P.C. was founded more than 75 years ago and is one of the largest plaintiffs’ personal injury law firms in the State. The New York Injury Law firm is composed of talented and experienced trial lawyers, litigators and appellate lawyers, whose commitment to excellence has earned our clients hundreds of millions of dollars in recoveries over the years.
The Manhattan injury firm is departmentalized within specialized areas of plaintiffs’ personal injury litigation such as construction site, fire, medical malpractice, motor vehicle, municipal, premises, and products liability cases. Within each department, litigation teams have been created and staffed to address issues that involve a specific area of the law.
Media Contact: Wilson LamSullivan Papain Block McGrath & Cannavo, P.C.
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