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A New York fisherman who was paralyzed in the 2003 Staten Island Ferry crash was recently awarded $18.3 million, more than double the amount awarded to any of the victims who settled before trial.
Back in 2003, shortly after the crash, the city asked a judge to limit the liability in the accident to a total of $14.4 million. This request was based on a maritime law, passed in the 19 th century that links the value of the boat to the owner’s liability if an accident should occur.
The judge denied the request, stating that the accident was the result of the city’s negligence. Since the denial last year, the city has shelled out $54.3 million in settlements. Then, on Sept. 19, a Brooklyn judge awarded James McMillan Jr. $18.3 million, pushing the current total cost of the liability to $72.6 million.
There are 40 cases related to the 2003 ferry crash left to go to trial. Officials are not sure what McMillan’s case means for the others, but records show he suffered the worst injuries from the accident. McMillin was standing near the bow at the time the accident occurred. He got trapped beneath a pile of debris which crushed several bones in his spine.
The traumatic spinal injuries left McMillin a quadriplegic. The jury awarded him $10.3 million for future medical expenses, $685,000 for past medical expenses, $7.4 million for future pain and suffering and $4.6 million for the emotional damage he already went through.
The Staten Island Ferry crash, which occurred Oct. 15, 2003, was one if the worst transportation accidents ever to occur in New York. The ferry, Andrew J. Barberi, crashed into the Staten Island dock when the ferry’s operator blacked out and lost control of the wheel.
City rules, governing the ferry system, state that there has to be two captains in the pilot house at all times. At the time of the accident, records indicate that there was only one pilot in the pilot house, which resulted in the fatal crash. Richard J. Smith, the assistant captain who passed out, and Patrick Ryan, the city’s ferry director both pleaded guilty to negligent manslaughter.
(Source: New York Times)
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