www.esryle.comLOCAL NEWS ACROSS THE NATION
Posted on 01/19/2005 6:49:05 AM PST by esryle
HACKENSACK, N.J. -- A jury awarded $60 million Tuesday to the family of a 7-year-old girl who was paralyzed when a drunken football fan on his way home from a New York Giants game crashed into the family's car.
Antonia Verni of Cliffside Park was 2 years old when the crash happened in 1999 in Hasbrouck Heights. Her family was headed home from a pumpkin-picking trip.
The family sued Aramark, the Giants Stadium concessionaire that sold beers to Daniel Lanzaro, saying the company was partly responsible for the crash.
The jury deliberated for a day and a half before reaching its verdict. The punitive phase of the trial will take place Wednesday and could result in a larger judgment, according to Roseland attorney David Mazie, who represented the family.
"Our work is not done," Mazie said. "I think that it's a problem throughout the country in stadiums and arenas. You witnessed it in the basketball brawl in Detroit. Hopefully this will make them more responsible with their beer sales."
The Vernis had also sued the NFL, the Giants and the Sports and Exposition Authority, but a judge previously dismissed the complaints against those entities, ruling they were not liable.
The damages will be split evenly between Aramark and Lanzaro, but Mazie said the family does not expect to get any money from the former Cresskill resident, who is serving a five-year prison term after pleading guilty to vehicular assault.
Mazie said the verdict was bittersweet for the Verni family.
"It doesn't replace what they lost, but it's some vindication," he said.
The family claimed Aramark vendors sold beers to Lanzaro at the stadium even though Lanzaro was clearly drunk and that Aramark "fostered" an atmosphere where intoxicated patrons were served, which is against the law.
Lanzaro had a blood-alcohol level more than twice the legal limit at the time of the crash and suffered only minor injuries.
The NFL forbids beer sales after the third quarter, and the Giants go a step further by shutting down beer vendors at the start of the third quarter. The stadium also mandates that fans can only buy two beers at a time, but Lanzaro sidestepped that rule by giving the vendor a $10 tip and was allowed to buy six beers.
Aramark lawyer Keith Harris did not immediately return a message left by The Associated Press Tuesday. During his closing statement, Harris told jurors during his closing statement that it was Lanzaro's decision to drive drunk that caused the crash. He also defended Aramark's alcohol management policy, which provides training for vendors in identifying drunken patrons and limits the sale of beer to two per transaction.
An economist testified during the trial that it will require as much as $42 million to care for Antonia for the rest of her life.
Ouch. That's gonna put a dent in beer sales.
Personally I have never understood the need to get $hitfaced at sporting events.... I enjoy and have gotten pretty trashed in my day, but NEVER in a situation where I had to drive myself or anyone else home afterwards.
After the trial lawyer takes about 55% ($33M)...do they also get to bill for their expenses?
The driving limit needs to be 0.0 in the US just as it is in Russia and France. Its unfortunate for the restaurant business but there are cabs and designated drivers around. Too many innocent people have been injured and killed (about 20,000 yearly in the US) because alcohol and manuevering a two ton vehicle do not mix.
So much for personal responsibility. Go for the deep pockets.
An economist testified during the trial that it will require as much as $42 million to care for Antonia for the rest of her life.After the trial lawyer takes about 55% ($33M)...do they also get to bill for their expenses?
Also note that they don't forsee getting any money from the defendant. Will the lawyer get the entire settlement? Will the family be on the hook for the rest?
Seems like they weren't able to track this case back to deep enough pockets.
What personal responsibility? Are you implying a family driving down the road and being plowed by a drunk driver deserved it because they were irresponsible?
Be serious.
The individual who served this drunk alcohol has direct personal responsibility for that act, and like it or not, so does the employer who hired him. You may not like it, but that's the way it is.... You hire someone who will serve beer to someone whos twice the legal limit, and they go cripple a little girl... you have liability in that event like it or not.
Where are those caps for pain and suffering??? (sarcasm)
There's probably no need per se, but it certainly is big bucks.
No doubt. I have a problem with this decision, especially against the concessionaire. How is a concessionaire supposed to know how much you've had to drink prior to you purchasing a beer from his stand? Whose to say the guy didn't hop from beer stand to beer stand? Also what if the guy brought some additional booze to game? This just doesn't seem right who will they sue next the truck driver who delivered the beer to the stadium? We need tort reform now more than ever.
The personal responsibility of the drunk driver. No one forced him to drink. The fan was not twice the legal limit when he bought the beers. He bought 6 beers at one time. That's why he went over the limit.
Let's say you buy a pack of Benedryl at the drug store. You go to your car, take the whole pack and drive home. You get in an accident. Is it the drug store's fault? Wouldn't the drug store know that taking a whole pack would make you unable to drive?
So the 7-year old coming back from a pumpkin-picking trip has some responsibility for a drunk driver who hit her? Excuse me? What do you think her responsibility is here -- to follow everyone around and make sure they don't drink and drive? Bottom line: it is illegal to sell alcohol to someone who is intoxicated and if you do you are liable for the consequences.
What did the beer vendor think he was going to do with 6 open beers at the stadium?
No chance of figuring it out all. Which makes it even more irresponsible for stadiums to sell the stuff.
The responsibility lies SOLELY with the driver of the vehicle, the man carries ALL guilt in this situation. The vendor did not tie him down and stick hime with an IV.
shakespeer said "Kill all the lawyers"
Pain and suffering? She's 5 years old now and article doesn't say if she's a quadroplegic or a paraplegic, but I guarantee that her lifetime will be filled with medical expenses that will indeed be millions upon millions of dollars... What did they say in trial 42 Million? or something... and that just assumes an average lifespan.
I don't think this judgement was based on "Pain and suffering" PUNATIVE damages are not Pain and Suffering awards.
No, he isn't.
The football stadium was sued to SELLING the alcohol to a man who drove drunk and paralyzed this little girl.
Should gun companies be sued when criminals shoot at people? I think not.
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