Bronx Civil Lawsuit Awards in 2011

Bronx juries awarded approximately $80 million in civil verdicts, according to the Daily News. The largest awards were made in personal injury cases involving construction accidents, medical errors and car accidents. Significant verdicts were also handed down in some wrongful arrest cases. There were more than 20,000 civil lawsuits filed in the Bronx in 2011.

Some of the top awards included:

• $18.6 million for a flooring contractor injured when the building he was working on caught fire
• $13 million for the victim of a spontaneous fire that occurred while he was using a paint sealant
• $2.5 million for a teenager whose physician failed to diagnose her appendicitis
• $6 million for a maintenance worker whose hand was caught in a trash compactor

In addition to personal injury verdicts such as these, other plaintiffs received awards for wrongful arrest. For example, a mother was awarded $13 million after being charged with starving her baby daughter in 1998.

Plaintiffs may not receive these precise amounts, as appeals by defendants often result in reduced awards.

Source: Daily News., “Bronx civil juries awarded $80 million in 2011 in accident, wrongful arrest and medical mistake cases“, by Kevin Deutsch, Jan. 10, 2011.