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Is someone blaming a first year associate somewhere? The lawyers for Paul Esposito, a 26 year old man whose legs were amputated after being mangled in the 2003 Staten Island crash, accidentally sent out a news release saying that the city had settled with Esposito for over $25 million. The NY Times says the release showed up on the AP wires, only for the city's Law Department to say there was no settlement (and that the "settlement amount set forth in the plaintiff's press release bears no relationship whatsoever to the number that had been discussed") and for the law firm, the Cochran (yes, that Cochran) Firm, to say the earlier press release was "premature." D'oh! Esposito's mother is angry at the firm, blaming their incompetence on the loss of Johnnie ("My son has no money and I can't help him. He has no money for rent and no money to live on but $800 a month. He's struggling, but he always has a smile."). Gothamist wonders if this snafu can limit the Cochran Firm's take on the settlement, as we're sure the city is freaking out to make sure they don't pay anywhere near the $25 million.
You can visit Paul Esposito's website here - he has prosthetic legs and is able to drive a specially-outfitted car; he also gives motivational speeches. (The Post notes that Esposito has not been on the Staten Island since the accident.) And the pilot of the SI Ferry during the crash was sentenced to jail in January.
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25 mil?? I feel sorry for the guy, but c'mon - that's crazy. Plus, it's not even the city's fault! It's like suing the city for getting hit by a car because the city built the road for the bad driver to drive on.
Maybe in the future, the city should settle with people by giving them a job instead of money. With the job would come health insurance, so all would be good, and taxpayers wouldn't have to cough up in the end.
This poor sap sounds like a nice guy, but it sounds like his mom his eager to cash in and buy a huge McMansion in Jersey.
Kudos to whoever leaked this. Anything to keep down these grotesque settlements.
This dude lost his legs at 26 - his quality of life has been pretty much decimated. He's got about 50 years left in him, probably - $25M may sound like a ton of money, but he'll likely need a ton of medical care and special accoutrements for his injuries for the rest of his life. These losses are quantifiable - it's our tort system. If the city's talking settlement, it's not some wacky claim.
25 mil sounds very reasonable when considering the more obscene salaries paid to corporate honchos, sports stars, media stars etc.
25 mil sounds like a sweet sixteen party, a hamptons party or one of those extravagant coming of age parties as shown on MTV and other sources. (the party includes a show by ashanti etc etc etc)