Crash
Victim to get $550,000
The Saratogian, Albany
By
Chris Sturgis
Staff writer
The
Averill Park man lost his spleen in a 1996 collision
in Troy
An
Albany Court jury awarded a man $500,000 in damages
Friday because a car accident cost him his spleen,
permanently compromising his resistance to disease,
said his attorney Jonathan Fairbanks.
"This
is the largest spleenectomy verdict I have ever
seen" Fairbanks said.
Russell
Jacques, 24, of Catholic Drive, was driving home
from Latham when he drove into the tunnel at Russell
Sage College in Troy about 2:30am. Feb. 18, 1996,
Fairbanks said.
The
traffic light was green, so Jacques headed into
the intersection at Ferry and Third streets, where
he said his car was struck by a vehicle driven
by James Finlan, 34 of 94 Woodlawn St., Troy,
Fairbanks said.
Finlan's
car, an Acura on loan from Northeast Acura, spun
around 360 degrees and wound up on Third Street
about 80 degrees from the crash site, Fairbanks
said. He said Finlan was driving that car because
he was about to purchase one from the dealership.
Finlan
was bruised in the crash but suffered no major
injuries, Fairbanks said.
Jacques
suffered a lacerated spleen, which had to be removed,
and spent about three months recovering before
returning to his job as a machine operator at
Latham Plastics, Fairbanks said.
Since
the spleen fights certain diseases and infections,
Jacques is at greater risk of death from pneumonia
or meningitis or certain strains of influenza.
As a result, Jacques has reason to avoid people
who may be contagious.
"There's
a huge psychological element to this" Fairbanks
said.
The
three-man, three-woman jury in state Supreme Court
in Albany awarded Jacques $200,000 for past pain
and suffering and psychological trauma he will
receive $350,000, for total verdict of $550,000,
Fairbanks said.
The
verdict was announced 3 p.m. Friday following
a four-day trial before Judge Bernard Malone,
Fairbanks said.
The
first $100,000 of the award will be paid by Finlan's
insurance company, Fairbanks said. The remainder
will be paid by the insurance company of Northeast
Acura, the dealership that owned the car Finlan
was driving, Fairbanks said.
"The
owner of a car is responsible for the negligence
of the driver" Fairbanks said. "That's
straight black-letter law in the state of New
York".
Neither
lawyers for the defense, James Pemberton and Elizabeth
Dunias, could be reached for comment. |
