Tracking down $$$ from my Jury Award

[brooklynmom]

What is the name of your state? NY

In 1997 I was hit by a yellow cab while driving in NYC. It was a hit & run accident, the driver took off but left his cab and identification. There were several witnesses and exactly 2 years ago, we went to court and sued the taxi company owners, the man who leased the cab from them and the driver who ran from the scene (he wasn't authorized to be driving the cab that night, the lessee was). From the injuries sustained, I have suffered greatly and am permanently disabled. (I spent 2 years in a wheel chair, had several surgeries and now have terrible arthritis and joint mobility impairment. In essence, I still can't walk without assitance from forearm crutches). We did not settle with the insurance company because they only offered $25,000, the minimum amount of personal injury insurance that yellow cabs had to carry at the time. (The law has since been changed and I think they now carry a min. of $200,000). So we went to trial and 9 days of testimony later, the jury came back with a judgement against the defendants. I was awarded a huge amount in Bronx Supreme Court: several million dollars. It was the largest award my attorneys (a top firm in personal injury in NYC) won in all of 2002.

My attorneys told me 2 things. The cab company went out of business and sold their medallions on auction because they owed taxes. Also, the defendants (2 of the litigants were companies and 2 were individuals-- all found responsible/liable) were appealing and although they would not win, the appeal process took time.

I am a single mom and really struggling to stay afloat. I have called my attorneys but they have no real answers and just say they're still working on it and have hope. I am existing on federal disability and feel like this is terribly unfair. The unpaid medical bills since having this accident have ruined my credit. I had a small business at the time of the accident and that's gone, too. I can barely make ends meet these days and haven't received one penny for any of what my family and I have been through.

How does the court ensure that the negligent/liable parties eventually pay up? Does my law firm have a responsibility to pursue this money on my behalf? I place a "nagging call" to their office every six months or so and it always makes me feel bad. But since a third of the award is theirs and they provided counsel and paid for the expert witness testimony (my doctors, etc.), it seems crazy that 2 years have gone by without anything positive coming my way from them... no word, no notice, not even any final documents. They just don't seem as interested in securing the award payment as I am, and since they are fairly large and well-to-do, it doesn't seem as urgent or important to them. Have they simply written my case off because it will take too much more time and effort to get an enforcement? Do they know it's a waste of time but aren't telling me? Do I hire someone else to take this on (if so, who?), or am I just out of luck?

Thank you for your advice.

[You Are Guilty]

Quick question before comments: If you live in Kings, and the accident occurred in Manhattan, what was the connection to the Bronx? Did one of the defendants live there? Anyway...

I suspect your problem is that the Bronx courthouse has the worst backlog in the entire City (for reasons we can get into later). But a simple motion can take a year to get a decision on. The "appeal" likely will start for a motion to the trial judge for various relief, and until he/she decides it, the "real" appeal won't begin. I highly doubt that your lawyers don't want to recoup their money. (By the way, they only fronted the cash for the experts and other trial costs. That comes off the amount of the judgment in addition to their 1/3).

If you can get me the index number of your case, I can check the status for you, or, if you prefer, you can do so yourself at [URL=http://www.e-law.com]NY lawsuit information website[/URL] (although I think you have to register).

Oh, and you are probably correct that the firm is not as worried about your case as they would be if the were smaller. That's part of the trade-off with going with a big-name place.