Kritzer Law Group Secures Defense Verdict in Brooklyn Bus Accident Trial
Kritzer Law Group Partner Rocco Iervasi secured a defense verdict on February 18, 2025, in United States District Court, Eastern District of New York, before the Honorable Orelia Merchant. The case stemmed from a two-vehicle accident on Nostrand Avenue in Brooklyn involving a side-swipe collision between a New York City Transit Authority bus and the plaintiff’s vehicle.
The 56-year-old plaintiff claimed that the accident caused serious injuries to his cervical spine, ultimately requiring a three-level fusion surgery. The case was tried over five days and was unified on the issues of both liability and damages. It included testimony from eight witnesses, five of whom were expert witnesses.
Bus Surveillance Footage Central to the Defense
One of the most pivotal elements of the case was the footage from the Transit Authority bus’s onboard video recording system. Mr. Iervasi presented the video to demonstrate that the bus had completed servicing a stop and was proceeding straight along Nostrand Avenue when the plaintiff’s vehicle unexpectedly turned into the bus’s rear bumper.
Plaintiff’s counsel argued that the bumper had been previously damaged and somehow hooked onto the plaintiff’s vehicle as the bus pulled away. However, Mr. Iervasi successfully refuted this theory, showing that there was no evidence to support it. The video footage clearly showed the plaintiff’s vehicle in the act of turning just prior to impact. Mr. Iervasi established that the plaintiff failed to yield the right-of-way to the Transit Authority bus, which was already in the travel lane.
After just one hour of deliberation, the jury returned a verdict in favor of the defendant, concluding that neither the Transit Authority nor its bus operator was negligent in causing the accident. As a result, the jury did not even consider the plaintiff’s claimed injuries.
The jury’s swift verdict brought the five-day trial to a close, marking another successful outcome for Mr. Iervasi in the courtroom.