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June 30, 2023

Lawsuit: Turning sanitation truck primarily liable for fatal crash

Type:

Settlement

Amount:

$4,050,000.00

State:

New York

Venue:

Kings County

Court:

Kings Supreme, NY

Injury Type(s):

  • leg– fracture, leg; fracture, femur
  • head
  • brain– subarachnoid hemorrhage
  • elbow– fracture, elbow
  • other– death; fracture; laceration; conscious pain and suffering
  • cardiac– aorta, tear; cardiac arrest
  • arterial/vascular– artery; hemorrhage; internal bleeding; artery, severed/tear

Case Type:

  • Wrongful Death
  • Motor Vehicle– Truck; Speeding; Left Turn; Passenger; Intersection; Multiple Vehicle; Alcohol Involvement

Case Name:

Maadia Monet Bunch, Individually and as Administrator of the Estate of Marquis Willis, deceased, and as the Mother and Guardian of the Property of Their Infant Daughter, LDW, and Selena M. McGuire v. Garfield A. Gwood, Roberto A. Venditti aka Robert A. Venditti, IESI NY Corporation, IESI Corporation, Progressive Waste Solutions of LI, Inc., Progressive Waste Solutions Ltd., Progressive Waste Solutions TS of LI Inc., John Does 1-5, No. 501965/2016

Date:

June 30, 2023

Parties

Plaintiff(s):

  • Dion Willis, (, 0 Years)
  • Maadia Bunch, (, 0 Years)
  • Selena M. McGuire, (, 0 Years)
  • LDW, (, 0 Years)
  • Estate of Marquis Willis, (Male, 22 Years) 

Plaintiff Attorney(s):

  • Conrad Jordan; Jordan & LeVerrier, P.C.; for Maadia Bunch, , Estate of Marquis Willis, , Lailonni Daisy Willis,
  • Peter DeFilippis; Peter DeFilippis & Associates, P.C.; for Maadia Bunch, , Estate of Marquis Willis, , Dion Willis, , Selena M. McGuire, , LDW,

Plaintiff Expert(s):

  • Gerard A. Catanese M.D.; Pathology; Syosset, NY called by: Conrad Jordan , Peter DeFilippis
  • Joseph Avella Ph.D.; Toxicology; East Meadow, NY called by: Conrad Jordan , Peter DeFilippis
  • Kristin K. Kucsma M.A.; Economics; Livingston, NJ called by: Conrad Jordan , Peter DeFilippis
  • Nicholas M. Bellizzi P.E.; Accident Reconstruction; Holmdel, NJ called by: Conrad Jordan , Peter DeFilippis
  • William McDonald Ph.D.; Paramedics/Paramedical; Staten Island, NY called by: Conrad Jordan , Peter DeFilippis

Defendant(s):

  • IESI Corp.
  • IESI NY Corp
  • Garfield A. Gwood
  • Roberto A. Venditti
  • Progressive Waste Solutions Ltd.
  • Progressive Waste Solutions of LI Inc.
  • Progressive Waste Solutions TS of LI Inc.

Defense Attorney(s):

  • James F. Burke; Wilson Elser; White Plains, NY for Roberto A. Venditti , IESI NY Corp , IESI Corp. , Progressive Waste Solutions of LI Inc. , Progressive Waste Solutions Ltd. , Progressive Waste Solutions TS of LI Inc.
  • Sam Amini; Scahill Law Group P.C.; Bethpage, NY for Garfield A. Gwood

Defendant Expert(s):

  • John A. Desch P.E.; Accident Reconstruction; Riverdale, NJ called by: for James F. Burke
  • Andrew J. Rentschler Ph.D.; Biomechanics; Pittsburgh, PA called by: for James F. Burke
  • Michael M. Baden M.D.; Pathology; New York, NY called by: for James F. Burke

Insurer:

  • State Farm Insurance Cos.
  • Arch Insurance Group
  • AXA XL

Facts

On July 9, 2014, plaintiff decedent Marquis Willis, 22, was a front-seat passenger in a vehicle being operated by Garfield Gwood on southbound Utica Avenue, near its intersection with Avenue D in Brooklyn. The two men had attended an informal birthday party that night. Both Willis and Gwood drank alcohol at the event. A third man was a backseat passenger in the vehicle.

Roberto Venditti was operating a 36-foot sanitation truck northbound on Utica Avenue. He attempted to make a left turn at the intersection.

The two vehicles collided. Willis and the backseat passenger sustained fatal injuries.

Willis’ fiancée, Maadia Bunch, acting individually, as administrator of her late fiancé’s estate and as the mother and guardian of their infant daughter, sued Gwood, Venditti and the owners of the sanitation truck, IESI NY Corp. and IESI Corp. She also sued Progressive Waste Solutions, IESI’s parent company, and several related Progressive entities. The lawsuit alleged that Gwood and Venditti were negligent in the operation of their respective vehicles and that the IESI/Progressive defendants were vicariously liable for Venditti’s actions.

Marquis Willis’ parents, Dion Willis and Selena McGuire, were also named as plaintiffs in the lawsuit.

Both vehicles had green lights at the time of the crash. A post-accident hospital blood test determined that Gwood’s blood alcohol content (BAC) was 0.09 percent. He was arrested and later pled guilty to vehicular manslaughter. Following a motion by plaintiffs’ counsel, the parties were not allowed to mention the criminal plea during the civil trial.

Plaintiffs’ counsel moved for summary judgment of liability against the two drivers. The motion was granted. However, the court ruled that the trial should determine the apportionment of fault.

The estate’s counsel maintained that Venditti was most at fault for the accident. Venditti admitted he saw the headlights of Gwood’s vehicle and then looked away from the vehicle as he turned. Plaintiffs’ counsel argued that Venditti did not attempt to judge the speed of Gwood’s vehicle nor determine how far away it was.

Plaintiffs’ expert accident reconstructionist testified that Gwood hit the brakes approximately two seconds before impact and that this demonstrated normal reaction time. The expert also opined that Venditti still needed another five seconds to clear the intersection when the impact occurred.

Plaintiffs’ counsel concluded that Venditti rushed his turn in an attempt to get through the intersection before the light turned red. Plaintiffs’ counsel contended that this motive explained why Venditti allegedly signed a police statement asserting he had turned left after waiting at a red light even though videos from the scene contradicted this assertion.

The Venditti/IESI defendants produced an accident reconstructionist who testified that Gwood was traveling 76 miles per hour prior to impact. The defense’s pathology expert also initially opined that Gwood’s BAC was 0.16 percent when the accident occurred. The expert based his opinion on the belief that Gwood’s blood had a 0.09 percent BAC approximately four hours after the accident. On cross-examination, however, the pathologist conceded that the 0.09 percent result came from blood drawn 40 minutes after the crash.

The defense additionally made a comparative-fault argument and claimed that Marquis Willis was liable for getting into a vehicle that an intoxicated Gwood was driving. Before summations, plaintiffs’ counsel moved to dismiss the comparative-negligence defense. The estate’s counsel maintained that Gwood was barely over the 0.08 percent legal limit for intoxication and that there was no evidence he was visibly impaired. Plaintiffs’ counsel pointed to paramedic and hospital records indicating Gwood was alert, cooperative and clear-eyed shortly after the accident. Gwood was also speaking in full sentences and did not have the smell of alcohol on his breath, according to plaintiffs’ counsel.

Plaintiffs’ counsel further noted that Willis, Gwood and the other deceased passenger had varying BAC levels after the crash. Therefore, plaintiffs’ counsel contended, Willis could not be faulted for failing to track how much each partier drank at the event.

The court granted the plaintiffs’ motion.

Injury

  • Willis was trapped in the vehicle. Ten minutes after the impact, the first paramedic to evaluate him said he was “alert” and that his eyes were “reactive” to light. However, Willis went into cardiac arrest at the scene. He was ultimately pronounced dead at the hospital.
  • Willis’ fatal injury was a half-inch laceration of the aorta that resulted in substantial bleeding into his chest cavity. His autopsy also revealed elbow and femur fractures, some hemorrhages under the scalp and a thin subarachnoid hemorrhage. Willis left behind his long-time fiancée, Maadia Bunch, and their nine-month-old daughter.
  • Plaintiffs’ counsel opined that Willis experienced conscious pain and suffering prior to his death. The estate’s counsel claimed this pain and suffering was severe and that it was comprised of painful fractures and the sensation of losing the ability to breathe. Plaintiffs’ counsel further contended that Gwood’s forceful and loud braking prior to the crash likely would have caused Willis to experience pre-impact terror for at least two seconds.
  • To support the conscious pain and suffering claim, plaintiffs’ counsel called a pathology expert who opined that Willis’ head injuries were not serious enough to render him unconscious. The expert further claimed that there were soft tissues blocking blood flow from the aorta long enough to keep Willis alive for more than 10 minutes after the crash.
  • Plaintiffs’ expert toxicologist further testified that the alcohol and medication found in Willis’ blood would not have rendered him incapable of appreciating pre-impact braking or post-impact pain and suffering.
  • In the years prior to the accident, Willis had worked intermittently in construction as a union member. Plaintiffs’ expert economist testified that, despite the decedent’s meager job earnings between the ages of 20 and 22, Willis would have been expected to earn more than $700,000 between the date of the accident and his daughter’s 21st birthday. The economist based this testimony on statistics for United States construction workers who did not attend college.
  • Willis’ household services over that same time period were valued at approximately $300,000. Bunch also testified that Willis spent considerable time caring for, playing with and watching educational shows with his daughter prior to his death.
  • Plaintiffs’ counsel sought recovery of lost earnings and household services. Plaintiffs’ counsel also sought recovery of damages for Willis’ conscious pain and suffering and for his daughter’s loss of parental guidance.
  • The defense disputed the plaintiffs’ claim that Willis experienced two seconds of pre-impact terror and at least 10 minutes of conscious pain and suffering. The defense’s pathology expert claimed the first responder who said Willis was alert 10 minutes after the impact must have confused his condition with Gwood’s. The pathologist opined that the decedent’s head injuries rendered him unconscious immediately and that the aortic laceration caused him to bleed to death within several minutes.
  • The defense’s expert also relied on what he claimed were entries on a report from a police officer who supposedly saw Willis unresponsive prior to the paramedics’ arrival. Plaintiffs’ paramedic expert, however, testified the police officer did not contribute any information to the subject report.

Result

  • Just prior to the trial’s summations, the parties negotiated a settlement. Gwood’s insurer tendered its $50,000 policy. The primary insurer for Venditti and ISI paid $1.7 million, which is what remained of its $2 million policy after a payment to the estate of the backseat passenger who died in the crash. The excess insurer for Venditti and ISI agreed to pay an additional $2.3 million from a $10 million policy. The settlement totaled $4,050,000.
  • LDW
  • Selena McGuire
  • Dion Willis
  • Estate of Marquis Willis
  • Maadia Bunch

Trial Information

Judge:

Robin K. Sheares

Trial Length:

0

Trial Deliberations:

0

Editor’s Comment

This report is based on information that was provided by plaintiffs’ counsel for Bunch, LDW and the Estate of Marquis Willis. Additional information was gleaned from court documents. Defense counsel did not respond to the reporter’s phone calls.

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