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Fair-Goer Collects $426K After Bus Mishap

Handicapped man’s scooter was not properly secured

By CHRISTIAN NOLAN

Leo Albert v. Lynn Ianucci & Double A Transportation: A handicapped Maine man was awarded more than $400,000 after he was injured on a shuttle bus at Connecticut’s annual Durham Fair.

In September 2006, Leo Albert, of South Portland, Maine, drove to New York City with a friend to attend the “Today Show” in New York City, where he saw Billy Joel perform. After the show, he and his friend decided to head up to Connecticut and attend the Durham Fair.

Albert was handicapped from injuries sustained during a career as a corrections officer. He was in multiples fights with inmates and also had some sports-related injuries. As a result, Albert requires the use of a motorized scooter to get around. So did his friend.

After the two parked their vehicle at a lot near the fair, they boarded a handicapped accessible bus to take them to the fairgrounds. According to one of Albert’s lawyers, Edward A. Jazlowiecki, of Jazlowiecki & Jazlowiecki of Bristol, Albert and his scooter were not adequately secured on the bus by the vehicle’s driver. Jazlowiecki, whose co-counsel in the case was Rodger W. Lehr Jr., said the driver, Lynn Ianucci, testified that she had not been trained properly on how to fasten a passenger on a scooter. Ianucci drove for Double A Transportation.

The Hartford lawyer representing Double A, Jeffrey Lahr acknowledged that Albert fell over when the bus driver “made a low-speed turn on a hill” near the fairground entrance.

Albert suffered multiple injuries, said Jazlowiecki, including a gash in the back of his head that required eight staples, a hip fracture and additional injuries to his prosthetic hip. Jazlowiecki said Albert also suffered from neck and shoulder pain, vertigo, and an aggravation of his pre-existing diabetes, depression and high blood pressure.

Jazlowiecki said Albert’s medical bills totaled $105,000, though the defense argued that some of the claimed injuries were not caused by the bus mishap.

“They couldn’t go two miles from point A to point B without getting him injured,” said Jazlowiecki, who accused Double A Transportation’s insurer, Interstate Insurance, of “trying to sleaze out of their responsibility.”

Double A’s attorney, Lahr, said Albert’s initial demand was $1.2 million. It was reduced to $750,000 a week before the trial. Lahr’s highest settlement offer was $250,000. “The reason this got tried is because the plaintiff had a very inflated view of what the case was worth,” said Lahr, who said that Double A Transportation admitted liability.

An eight-day trial took place in March before Judge Wilson J. Trombley in New Britain Superior Court. The jury came back with a verdict for $426,000. Some $51,000 of that was to cover medical bills, the rest was for current and future pain and suffering.

“I’m assuming because they liked [Albert],” Lahr said, referring to the non-economic damages award. “He was a likable individual.”

Lahr said the jury did not award damages for the neck and shoulder pain, the injuries to the plaintiff’s prosthetic hip, or the aggravation of his diabetes and hypertension. “The jury essentially bought everything I told them with respect to what medicals were related and what weren’t,” Lahr said. “The court at pretrial put $500,000 on [the potential verdict]. It came back $350,000 less than [the plaintiffs] were willing to take [in a settlement]. It was a draw… but it was a lot closer to our number than theirs.”

A collateral source hearing is scheduled this month and could reduce the damages to around $390,000, according to Lahr. •