Remembering the 2003 Staten Island Ferry Crash

New York personal injury lawyers are remembering the 2003 Staten Island ferry crash, which killed 11 people.

The crash happened when the pilot of the ferry had fallen asleep at the helm. He had been taking painkillers at the time and was alone in the cabin. As a result of the 2003 Staten Island ferry crash, the city of New York became party to over one hundred lawsuits and legal battles that changed the application of maritime law, as well as the way New York injury lawyers practice ferry-crash cases.

Back in 2008, Judge Jack B. Weinstein of the Federal District Court awarded $18.3 million to a former fish-market owner, James McMillan Jr., who was paralyzed in the crash. At the time, it was the highest judgment ever against the city in a personal injury case.

James McMillan had been offered $10 million by the city but refused the offer. Instead, he took his case to trial and increased his award by 83 percent.

McMillan lost the use of his arms and legs in the crash. James McMillan was standing near the bow when the crash happened. As a result, he was pinned down by debris and broke his spine. The jury awarded him $10.3 million for future medical expenses, $685,000 for past medical expenses, $7.4 million in future pain and suffering damages and $4.6 million for the pain and suffering he had already experienced. The judge reduced the damages for future medical expenses to $5.6 million.

The thing that worries many New York personal injury attorneys is the fact that the McMillan case had a far reaching implication on the practice of personal injury law in New York. The judge reduced the fee of the New York injury lawyer representing McMillan. Where attorneys typically get 30 percent of the judgment under contingency fees, the judge cut the attorney's fees to 20 percent.

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