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A jury in Brooklyn this week awarded a bicyclist, Robert Liciaga, $110 million after a ten-foot rail tie dislodged during a transit renovation project and severed the man’s spine.
This award is one of the highest in history. The jury found the transit authority 100% liable for the accident that resulted in Liciaga becoming paraplegic. The accident occurred three years ago when then-23 year old Liciaga was riding his bike to a video game store in Bushwick. He stated that he was told by a construction worker that it was safe to bike under the elevated J and M transit where rail was being removed. Liciaga recalled biking to the right of a barricade where there was an open area, rather than biking in the middle of a major intersection.
Liciaga’s attorney argued that the area to the right, where rail ties were being dropped into the street, should have been barricaded and off-limits, or it should have had a guard stationed in front to reroute bikers and pedestrians.
Of the $110 million awarded by the jury, expert witnesses claim that life-long nursing home care for Liciaga would cost about $40 million. The jury awarded $60 million for pain and suffering and $10 million for the medical expenses Liciaga had already incurred over the past three years since the accident.
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