SKETCHES OF COURT: Jury awards $572,000 in damages
In this courtroom sketch, Hon. Wayne Saitta listens as plaintiff’s attorney Thomas Brennan (standing), of the law firm Block O’Toole & Murphy, addresses the jury during opening statements in the motor vehicle accident trial Chaaban v. Rotbann. To his right is co-counsel Romina Tominovic. At center, court reporter Alecia Hines records the proceedings.
Abbas Chaaban was belted and at the helm of his stopped vehicle on Canal Street in September 2013, when his car sustained a rear-end collision. Both parties to the law suit signed a stipulation that the defendant driver was entirely at fault. Menahem Rotbann was represented by defendant’s attorney Lawrence Buchman (at right), of the law firm Pillinger Miller Tarallo. At issue was the determination of damages.
Chaaban claims he was seriously injured when his neck and body lurched back and forth in the impact. The 30-year-old, who had been a vigorous sports and gym enthusiast before the accident, displayed six-pack abs in trial exhibit photos and testified to working out three hours per day, five days per week. Chaaban maintained that he was asymptomatic prior to the accident. Chaaban eventually underwent anterior discectomy surgery and fusion to his neck, alleging that more conservative avenues failed to resolve his complaints since the accident. He resumed his duties as a small business owner but claims that he is not able to return to his workouts or resume his quality of life.
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