Student tourist who lost arm and leg in NYC subway accident wins staggering $82M verdict

NY Post ^ | Published Nov. 25, 2025 | By Peter Senzamici

[Sicon]

And no doubt the government will pay billions of dollars for barriers like those, and they will be poorly made/installed, and break down constantly, resulting in billions more in taxpayer money being distributed among the politically connected contractors hired to install and maintain them.

[CondoleezzaProtege]

Thank you for your service. 🙏

Prayers for all those forgotten and left behind upon returning “home.” 😔 We need much fiercer leadership to address this and turn the tide. And much better media coverage at that.

[CondoleezzaProtege]

Yes i mean the fact they have 80+ million to give in case of a lawsuit but didn’t use it to update and modernize the subway ages ago - is everything wrong with US cities and America in general right now.

[Alberta's Child]

A few years ago I learned that the civil litigation system doesn't really work the way it plays out in media stories. There's a good chance the plaintiff in this case already "settled" on a judgement long before the verdict was handed down.

A former business associate of mine was a guy with an interesting background. He was a financier with a law degree whose company would engage in an industry that I never knew existed before I met him: litigation finance.

Basically, his company would "buy" cases from prospective plaintiffs before their lawsuits were even filed. In a case like this involving an incident that occurred in 2016, his firm's attorneys would meet with the plaintiff's attorneys and craft a financial arrangement that might look like this:

1. The plaintiff wants to sue the MTA for $100 million.

2. The plaintiff's attorney takes the case on a contingency basis, and will take 30% of any award in the case.

3. They estimate that it will cost $5 million in legal costs to litigate the case over 8-10 years, with another $2 million in added costs such as filing fees, expert witnesses, jury consultants, etc.

4. The lawyers analyze the facts of the case and estimate that the ultimate award is likely to be around $80 million, and would likely be reduced to $40 million after another 5-10 years of appeals. This would mean the plaintiff would net out $26 million after paying the $12 million contingency fee to her attorney and the $2 million in additional expenses -- IF they get the verdict in their favor and a sizable settlement.

5. So Litigation Finance, Inc. offers the plaintiff a payment of $12 million up front -- before the lawsuit is even filed. The plaintiff's obligation is to meet every legal requirement in the case in terms of depositions, discovery, court testimony, etc.

6. Litigation Finance, Inc. then cuts a separate deal with the plaintiff's attorney to cover the cost of litigating the case for up to 15-20 years (this alone is an enormous financial burden for any law firm).

7. When the case has run its course for years, Litigation Finance, Inc. keeps whatever money is gained from the ultimate settlement.

As you can imagine, the risks of this sort of enterprise are daunting. That's why the combination of legal expertise, financial expertise, and fine-tuned analytics is so critical.

[surrey]

My California raised granddaughter just started a job in NYC and takes the train. First thing I told her was to never stand near the edge of the platform.

[hal ogen]

Was the second thing told her “Get out of NY as soon as is possible!”?

[Jonny7797]

So that’s what an arm and leg and worth! We finally know.