Claire Rush Successfully Obtained a Defense Verdict in a Cyclist Collision Accident Jury Trial

Claire Rush, Senior Trial Attorney and Partner, obtained a defense verdict on November 1, 2022, before the Honorable Lyle Frank in Supreme Court, New York County. This case was commenced by a bicyclist who was struck by a cab. The cab driver had been precluded from testifying because he did not appear for a deposition. Ms. Rush was brought in as trial counsel when the plaintiff's counsel demanded the policy plus. Plaintiff claimed psychiatric problems, multiple injuries in the lumbar spine, to the shoulder, and fractures in several areas of the body. Plaintiff had multiple years of physical therapy and lumbar epidural injections.

Since Ms. Rush didn't have a liability witness she focused on attacking the plaintiff's medical claims. She made a number of motions in limine including one which successfully excluded an expert report served on the eve of trial, which claimed that the plaintiff would require over $1M in future medical treatment. During cross-examination, Ms. Rush demonstrated where the plaintiff initially sought treatment had excluded any fractures in the ankle and hand. She then established that these records showed that plaintiff never complained of back, shoulder, wrist, or psychiatric problems in the hospital. Further demonstrated the records showed that the plaintiff had previously sought treatment at a pain management clinic for low back pain. Finally, Ms. Rush demonstrated that plaintiff had falsely claimed he had discontinued treatment with the no-fault medical clinic because of Covid. Having undermined the plaintiff’s credibility on his damages claim Ms. Rush was able to successfully argue in summation that the plaintiff had failed to make out a prima facie case on the issue of negligence.

The jury accepted this argument and returned a verdict finding no negligence on the part of the defendant. Ms. Rush extends her sincere gratitude to the client and BMM trial prep team for the outstanding work they did to help obtain this verdict.