What Happened?
In November 2022, Lawrence was standing near the southeast corner of the intersection of Hammersley Avenue and Eastchester Road in Bronx, New York. While waiting for a storekeeper to open for business, an FDNY fire truck with its lights and sirens activated was traveling on Eastchester Road toward a 911 call when it crashed into a city pickup truck that was crossing the intersection. The impact caused the pickup truck to strike Lawrence, throw him to the ground, collide with an unattended parked vehicle, and shatter multiple storefront windows with one of the truck’s tires. According to the police report, the fire truck slowed down at the intersection before proceeding through it, while the pickup truck had a steady green light when the collision occurred. Lawrence was taken by ambulance to the hospital, where he remained admitted for about seven days.
As a result of the crash, Lawrence suffered serious injuries to his head (TBI), neck, back, and left shoulder. He was knocked unconscious after being struck and woke up in the ambulance bleeding from the left side of his face. He was diagnosed with a skull fracture and intracranial hemorrhage, and underwent major skull surgery the same day as the accident. Lawrence experienced daily headaches on the left side of his head, dizziness, blurry vision, and ringing in his ears. In addition to his head injury, he suffered pain in his neck, back, and left shoulder, along with weakness in his left arm. Unfortunately, because of the severity of his head injury, Lawrence developed post-traumatic seizure disorder, requiring multiple hospital visits, and he continued to suffer daily headaches for years after the accident. He was unable to return to work and is now totally disabled.
Lawrence’s Bronx Pedestrian Accident Attorney
Just two days after the incident, one of Lawrence’s loved ones reached out to our team for help with his legal matter. Since both vehicles involved were owned by the City of New York, this case was up against the City. Both drivers refused to take responsibility for Lawrence’s injuries and claimed they did not recall striking a pedestrian. The FDNY fire truck driver testified that he properly slowed down while approaching the intersection on a steady red light, and “may have” come to a complete stop before entering the intersection but could not say for certain.
With the incredible legal representation of attorney Adam Handler, our team uncovered three FDNY bulletins that had been issued before the date of the accident. The bulletins required fire engines to come to a complete stop at a steady red light before entering an intersection and to proceed only after obtaining the right-of-way. Additionally, the fire truck driver admitted that the view to his right – where the pickup truck entered the intersection – was blocked by a plywood fence, making visibility limited and dangerous to enter an intersection against a steady red light.
Despite the City’s many objections to our legitimate arguments, our Bronx pedestrian accident attorney successfully secured a $3.3 million settlement on behalf of Lawrence.
