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LUIS CABEZAS, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. THE CITY OF NEW YORK, Defendant-Respondent.

Plaintiff, who is right-handed, broke his right wrist when he fell on a sidewalk. He suffered a comminuted intra-articular distal radius fracture and displaced ulnus styloid fracture, and underwent two operations, one of which involved external fixation. He has limited wrist motion and limited grip strength in his right hand, cannot carry anything heavy, has difficulty grabbing or holding small objects, buttoning his shirt and combing his hair, cannot wash dishes or sweep the floor, and can no longer swim or play softball or basketball. He suffers constant pain that will require a future wrist fusion operation, which will eliminate all motion in his wrist and may have other adverse effects.

We note defendant's failure to contravene plaintiff's medical evidence with expert evidence of its own (see Roux v. Caiola, 254 A.D.2d 182, 183, lv denied 93 N.Y.2d 803), and find that neither the award of $450,000 for past pain and suffering nor that of $450,000 for 23 years of future pain and suffering deviates materially from what is reasonable compensation (CPLR 5501[c]; cf. Valentine v. Lopez, 283 A.D.2d 739, 743-744). The trial court's reduction of the award for past medical expenses to $28,000 was apparently based on the amounts that plaintiff owes Lincoln Hospital and Dr. Kaplan. However, plaintiff also owes money to Metropolitan Hospital, whose records were received in evidence. Hence, there is evidence to support the jury's award of $50,000 for past medical expenses. The trial evidence supports a reduction of the jury's award for future medical expenses from $60,000 to $50,000, as plaintiff concedes.

THIS CONSTITUTES THE DECISION AND ORDER OF THE SUPREME COURT, APPELLATE DIVISION, FIRST DEPARTMENT.

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CABEZAS v. CITY OF N.Y
(Mar 25, 2003)