Miraglia v. H & L Holding Corp.

799 N.Y.S.2d 162 (2004)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

P fell while transversing a trench at a construction site. P became impaled on a reinforcement bar (rebar) that was surgically removed several hours after his admission to the hospital. P sued H & L (D). The jury heard testimony from P's physicians and other experts (that was largely uncontroverted) regarding the devastating nature of the injuries. Dr. Carrano, the Director of Spinal Cord Services at Helen Hayes Hospital, described in explicit detail the nature and effect of the injuries plaintiff incurred. P continues to experience pain. P has nerve pain in his legs, and that nerve pain is perhaps one of the worst pains that you could think of. 'Imagine somebody stabbing you with a knife, a gazillion times, or with a pin all over the place. That numbness, that tingling, that stabbing sensation' [is] 'present all the time, . . . But it is a constant pain, and that pain will not go away.' Dr. Carrano described the emotional pain sustained by P caused by the distress of no longer having the ability to walk and the nerve pain emanating from his legs which was permanent. The jury also heard testimony regarding P's chronic bed sores, his catherization in order to urinate, his inability to control bowel movements, constant urinary tract infections, and repeated hospitalization. P was a paraplegic. The jury rendered a verdict in the sum of $86 million including $20 million for past pain and suffering and $55 million for future pain and suffering. Lane & Sons Construction Corp.(D) moved to reduce the damages.