SKETCHES OF COURT: Woman awarded $300K After L.I. Expressway accident

June 19, 2015 By Alba Acevedo Special to the Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Court sketch by Alba Acevedo

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In this courtroom sketch, Hon. Bert Bunyan listens as attorney Joseph Ferri (standing) examines the plaintiff in the motor vehicle accident trial Susan Lofaro v. Stephen & Susan Sariego. Court reporter Robin Ashby is seen transcribing the proceedings.

At issue in the trial, after summary judgment on liability, was the determination of damages. In December 2010, the plaintiff was a passenger in a Toyota Camry that was rear-ended by the defendants’ SUV, which was being driven at 60 mph along the Long Island Expressway.

Lofaro was removed by ambulance and taken to a hospital. She underwent several types of treatment for her neck injury, including six months’ bed rest, physical therapy and epidural steroid injections. After six months, the plaintiff returned to her job as a liquor and wine salesperson, but alleges she sought more treatment after feeling her pain symptoms worsen.

In April 2012, she suffered a setback when she tripped and fell while stepping off a curb after seeing a client. She claimed not only that the fall aggravated the neck injury from the 2010 motor vehicle accident, but also that the injury caused her misstep. She has not returned to work since.

The defendants, represented by Jose M. Gomez (seated, left) of the law firm Harris King Fodera & Correia, introduced video footage of the plaintiff on a treadmill. They sought to mitigate the damages for the motor vehicle accident after the point where she suffered the subsequent trip and fall.

The jury awarded total damages of $300,000, not including future lost wages, in the trial, which concluded this week in Kings County Civil Term.