Lawsuits Cost New York City Taxpayers Six Billion Dollars From 2000-2010: Report

New York City taxpayers have shelled out six billion dollars to settle claims and lawsuits filed against the city since 2000, The New York Post uncovers in City Comptroller John Liu's biannual report.

Last year alone, the city paid $520.6 million in claims, the majority in cases against the NYPD, the Health and Hospitals Corp. and the Department of Transportation.

99 percent of the payouts went towards personal injury claims which include for civil disputes involving personal or property negligence.

The most expensive payout in 2010 was a $33 million payout to Rikers Island nonviolent inmates who were illegally searched.

The website of New York personal injury firm Subin and Associates boasts a long list of million-plus dollar victories in court against the city, including an $11.8 million payout to a 62 year-old man struck by a New York City police car.

Many of the other claims against the city in the last decade were slightly more dubious.

From a 2009 report from conservative think tank Pacific Research Institute:

A Manhattan jury awarded $14.1 million to a woman who lay down on New York City subway tracks and was hit by a train during a failed suicide. Another New York City jury gave $9.3 million to a man who fell on subway tracks while inebriated and lost his left arm. Another drunk on the tracks was awarded $6 million. Earlier this year, a Brooklyn judge upheld a decision to grant an 11-year-old boy $1.03 million in damages for pain and suffering he experienced after fracturing his ankle playing soccer during gym class.

New York state's tort laws-- are among the most lax in the country and tort-reform legislation was left out of the state budget that passed back in March.

Comments

[nohopepope2187]

08:24 PM on 08/31/2011

The city that never sleeps needs to take a nap...

[FOXYROSE]

10:15 AM on 08/23/2011

NY has a lot of "ambulance chaser lawyers" all feeding off the system. Here is what should be done, if you sue and lose you pay both attorney's fees.

[drich104]

06:21 AM on 08/23/2011

The judges are to blame. Three quarters of these suits should be thrown out right away. The suits should not be allowed passed the filing stage. Some suits are legit, and an awful lot should receive the large awards.

[Israel4Ever]

10:42 PM on 08/22/2011

The city has no money...it is reliant on my tax dollars. I see no reason that schools should be shortchanged, streets less clean, and parks closed for more hours so a bunch of sue-happy law-hogs can live off of our tax dollars.

Not that I think misbehavior by NYC government should go unpunished...it is just the individuals who execute the bad behavior I think should be targeted...Financially punishing an institution like NYC does nothing to reform behavior...but it does beggar the rest of us. Boo on the opportunistic sue-monkeys and their worse lawyers.

[JohnTalbutt]

07:22 PM on 08/22/2011

The examples seem carefully chosen in support of so-called tort reform. It is more likely that the majority of the money that NYC paid was justly awarded to people or the survivors of people who had suffered real harm.

[rman96]

08:36 PM on 08/22/2011

Agreed. There are always going to be one or two cases that people view as unfair, but most people awarded money deserved it.

[afinch9]

06:37 PM on 08/22/2011

Is this really liberal answer to unemployment in NYC?

[jimbarry1946]

05:28 PM on 08/22/2011

"New York state's tort laws-- are among the most lax in the country and tort-reform legislation was left out of the state budget that passed back in March." Who wants to bet that, "New York personal injury firm Subin and Associates," "donated" a bunch of money to gaurantee that the tort-reform was left out. There must be some rich legislators running around the state.

[sgentilejr]

04:37 PM on 08/22/2011

Should we reward people for driving drunk and injuring others? Should we reward people for holding up a deli and shooting the owner?
Rewarding the city of NY (or anyone) for causing damages and injuries by limiting their liability is exactly like limiting the liability of a drunk driver or criminal and Rewarding them for their actions. Hospitals do not "Have a right" to make mistakes and police officers do not have any Right" to abuse their police powers. Sorry I made a mistake is not acceptable. They should be punished for their actions just as a drunk driver or any other criminal is punished for his actions.

[Holymolly]

10:03 AM on 08/24/2011

Six billion dollars in paid claims in New York since 2000? What about every other state?
Punish the rest of the populace for everyone's mistakes?. A just punishment would be prison terms for police officers or doctors who screw up and they should be sued for the losses or medical bills of the victims, not the taxpaying public. More than half of all that money awarded does not reach the victin's pockets. :(

[billc516]

03:50 PM on 08/22/2011

There are, of course, cases that should not be paid out on, but the city had to pay out three times for illegal strip searches. Not once, not twice, but three times, because after they agreed in 2002 that the strip searches were illegal, they continued the humiliating and illegal practice. Blaming the $6 billion lost on lawsuits ignores the city's culpability.

[tomcatv1]

03:42 PM on 08/22/2011

I was on a jury for a simple slip and fall in New York where the City settled before it went to trial. I don't know why the Prosecutor did it but afterwards he showed us photos of the street that this little old lady fell on. Now everyone feels sorry for little old ladies but to tell you the truth I couldn't have voted her way because I couldn't see what she fell on. But the City in it's infinite wisdom settled for 50 grand. Do that enough times and I can see a bill for 500 million.

[jl4141]

03:47 PM on 08/22/2011

If you get HBO, there's a good documentary available on demand on this topic. I think the title is "Hot Coffee" -- the doc centers around the famous McDonald's coffee incident in Florida. It really explains the phony anti-individual nonsense that "tort reform" is.

[WhatdoesitMean]

02:11 PM on 08/22/2011

Other reasons why tort reform is wrong (that got left off because of the size limit on the posting)

Don't tell the mother whose daughters were killed by a police officer who was going 110 MPH & on his cell phone when he lost control of his car that there is a limit to her recovery. Don't tell the person who got a staff infection at the hospital & lost a limb because of that there is a limit to their recovery. Don't tell the person who got the wrong drugs at the pharmacy & had a heart attack that they should have a limit to their recovery.

[jl4141]

03:49 PM on 08/22/2011

Watch "Hot Coffee," a doc on HBO -- explains what nonsense "tort reform" is very well.

[WhatdoesitMean]

02:10 PM on 08/22/2011

Ridiculous lawsuits are a problem. But Tort Reform is never, ever the answer. Tort reform is the mantra for people who want to reward business & companies & individuals for bad behavior & cutting corners.

If you are harmed by a drug company who did not properly screen their drugs or a hospital that did not control their staff infection problem or a doctor who operated on the wrong leg, tort reform will hurt the victim every time & only help the insurance companies & large corporations. If you are harmed by a company dumping toxic waste into the water supply & your children are born with health issues that will follow them through their life, there should not be an cap placed on their recovery.

Granted frivolous lawsuis should be done away with. Getting hit by a police car & being unlawfully searched by the goverment is not frivolous. People who are harmed by those actions should not be capped in their recovery if there was wrong doing by the actor.

Juries need to have more common sense & not see this as a way to get back at the "man" or allow someone else to get a bonanza. Perhaps better jury instructions, perhaps more information allowed in at a trial.

But tort reform, no way.

[jimbarry1946]

05:31 PM on 08/22/2011

L-word! L-word! L-word! Just who do you think pays for every one of those lawsuits? YOU and I because the companys just raise prices to pay for every penny they loose.

[JohnTalbutt]

07:32 PM on 08/22/2011

Oh Please! You think that all the products that have been taken off the market after their danger has been proved in court is because the companys have such big hearts.
Use your noodle.

[blakewelding]

12:08 PM on 08/22/2011

Why bury a story like this? These rediculous lawsuits are a big problem nationwide. Tort reform should be center stage.

[jl4141]

01:56 PM on 08/22/2011

"Tort reform" (a misnomer if ever there was one) is right-wing corporate garbage. I prefer that a body of citizen jurors, rather than a legislature, determine if a person has been so wrongfully damaged by another that he or she deserved compensation.

And your spelling is "rediculous."

[mpstrong1414]

09:42 PM on 08/22/2011

The whole concept of money for damages from individuals is "rediculous". If John Q Poor Citizen causes me injury due to his neglect and he has an annual income of 20 dollars, how much money do you think I'll collect? On the other hand Joe Rich injures me and it's payday. I thought the fourteenth amendment guaranteed equal protection under the law but even as a percentage of income Joe Rich is going to come out the loser. Now corporate neglect is another issue and yes corps should be punished for knowlingly selling defective products. The entire system is by lawyers and for lawyers and really should be revamped as it costs us all too much money. (BTW I know it's Ridiculous)