Second Department Reduces Pain And Suffering Award In Wrongful Death Case

In Dowd v. New York City Transit Authority, the defendant's bus struck the plaintiff's decedent, who was on the sidewalk.  The rear wheels of the bus ran over the decedent, and the bus then moved forward and ran over the decedent a second time.  The decedent was still conscious and complaining of pain when paramedics arrived on the scene and transported her to the hospital.  Eighteen minutes after the accident, the decedent went into cardiac arrest. She was revived and her vital signs returned; but she subsequently went into cardiac arrest a second time, and was pronounced dead an hour and a half after the accident.  The Appellate Division reduced the jury's $1.75 million pain and suffering award to $1.2 million.