Case Histories

SETTLEMENT GIVES BOY HURT BY HORSE $2 MILLION

A 12-year-old Allegany County boy will receive $2 million in an insurance settlement for the injuries he suffered in an accident involving a neighbor's horse, court officials said Friday.

The child suffered a traumatic brain injury, a fractured skull and severe loss of hearing in his left ear, according to attorney Francis M. Letro of Buffalo, who handled the negligence case.

Over the 4th of July weekend, free buggy rides were being given around Cuba Lake. The child and a relative got on the rig, only to find the horse refused to move, Letro said.

When the buggy driver got in the driver's seat, he couldn't get the horse to move. The buggy driver asked the male relative of the victim to get off and try to lead the horse by its bridle.

The horse reared, and its bridle, which was defective, fell off, and the horse bolted and raced, about 300 yards with only the child left on the buggy. The buggy struck a tree, throwing the child off and causing severe head injuries, Letro said.

A trial started in the case but was halted by settlement talks brought on by the introduction of the defective bridle equipment on the horse.

The mother of the child is now a Western New York coordinator for a head injury group, helping families of head injury victims to get legal, medical and social assistance, largely because of the impressive work performed on her son by the Children's Hospital staff, the attorney said.

$1.5 MILLION SETTLEMENT ACCEPTED FOR FALL
An HMO official who severely injured her back slipping on a slush-covered marble floor in a Key Bank building on Sheridan Drive near Harlem Road in Amherst has accepted a $1.5 million settlement from insurance carriers for Key Bank, her attorney, Francis M. Letro said.

The victim agreed to the cash settlement during a jury trial in her negligence case against Key Bank in State Supreme Court.

The settlement came after the victim's attorney, Francis M. Letro presented evidence that Key Bank had cut back on maintenance and removed mats that covered the floor near the elevators, where his client slipped.

INJURED WORKER RECEIVES $1.4 MILLION SETTLEMENT IN AN ON-THE-JOB INJURY CAUSED BY AN UNSAFE CONSTRUCTION SITE

DIOCESE TOLD TO PAY $675,000 FOR FALL

A State Supreme Court jury ordered the Buffalo Catholic Diocese to pay $675,000 to a semi-retired Williamsville painting contractor who suffered a blood clot of the brain and vision problems after he fell on an icy sidewalk outside Cardinal O'Hara High School.

After a two-week negligence trial, the jury ordered the diocese, or its insurance carriers, to pay the money to the contractor, 68, for injuries he suffered from the fall, while participating in a craft show at the school.

Francis M. Letro, the contractor's attorney, said his client fell and hit his head on the ice-covered sidewalk along a service road at the school, at 39 O'Hara Road in the Town of Tonawanda, about 11 AM. The contractor had to undergo brain surgery and suffered permanent vision problems, Letro said.

The high school's alumni association was sponsoring a craft show fund-raiser at the time. Letro said nothing was done to "cure" severe ice problems at the school. The contractor was judged 10% responsible for his injuries, court officials said.

OLEAN MAN SHOT BY TURKEY HUNTER GETS $101,000

An Olean man mistaken for a turkey near the start of spring turkey hunting season received a settlement of $101,000.

The victim, dressed in camouflage, was using a turkey call while sitting on a stump and carrying a hen turkey decoy in a net mesh on his back at the time of the shooting. The victim was stuck by more than 100 pellets from another hunter's 12-guage shotgun. About 70 pellets remain embedded in the victim's right arm, shoulder and back.

The victim's lawyer, Francis Letro pointed out that the hunter who shot the victim, had been attracted by the sound of a hen turkey call and had shot a hen decoy despite the fact that only tom turkeys can be shot in the spring turkey season.