$2.9M to Bus Passenger
A Passaic County jury last Wednesday awarded $2.9 million to a bus passenger injured when a tire came loose from a car on Route 17 in Paramus and slammed into her window. The impact of her head with the window hurt her eyes so badly that she, Winsome McPherson, is legally blind.
Evidence showed that new tires had been installed on the car 69 days before the December accident. A witness for the installer testified that shop procedures guaranteed proper mounting. But Stone's evidence showed the lug nuts were not inspected for wear and the shop did not use a torque stick that would have ensured a tight fit. The jury returned a no-cause against the driver of the car, Louis Dolfinger, assessed 70 percent of the liability on tire installer, Mavis Discount Tires of New York and found the bus operator, Coach Leasing Co., a subsidiary of shortline of Mahwah, 30 percent liable.
(This information was obtained from the New Jersey Law Journal)
