Defense Verdict Obtained in Fatal Motor Vehicle Accident Case Benson v. Almonte et al., S/Kings Motor Vehicle Accident Case The jury rendered a defense verdict in favor or our clients in this case brought in Supreme Court, Kings County, arising from a fatal motor vehicle accident which took place on Sunrise Highway in Long Island on the night of June 16, 2005. We represented the driver and owner of the livery vehicle involved in the accident. Plaintiff’s decedent, a 27 year old construction worker, sustained fatal injuries after running across six lanes of Sunrise Highway before stopping in front of and being struck by our client’s livery vehicle. The decedent’s mother sued our clients, claiming they were negligent in failing to avoid the accident. The estate’s counsel argued that because two other motorists in the next lanes saw plaintiff and were able to avoid him, our client should have been able to do the same. At trial, our accident reconstruction expert testified that the other vehicles acted as a screen, blocking our client’s view and giving him less than one second to react after plaintiff ran into his lane. We called to the stand a toxicologist who testified that plaintiff was intoxicated with the equivalent of 11.8 alcoholic drinks in his system and was further impaired by THC, a component of marijuana. We also called the first responding police officer who testified about contributing factors to the accident such as rain and lighting. After hearing all the evidence, the jury returned a defense verdict, finding that our clients were not negligent. Congratulations to RKT Partner Stephen Toner, who handled the trial. |
