Injured boy’s parents sue Brighton, Monroe County
Monroe County and the town of Brighton are being sued by the parents of a boy who was seriously injured while crossing Westfall Road last year.
The boy, Thomas Yoon, was returning home from Buckland Park with his sister and a baby sitter when he was hit by a vehicle on Oct. 6, 2005. The driver and the baby sitter are also defendants in the suit, which was filed in State Supreme Court last week.
On May 30, a traffic light was installed at the location and a sidewalk was added. State, county and town officials were present for the unveiling.
But at the time of the accident, people had to weave through traffic to get across the street or walk along with traffic to get to the next crosswalk.
The boy's injuries include a traumatic brain injury, bilateral pulmonary contusion and paralysis and severe atrophy of the left calf muscle.
The suit, which asks for an unspecified amount of damages, claims that the "intersection, roadway, path, and area was also improperly designed, improperly constructed, improperly maintained, and the municipal defendants failed to correct a known dangerous condition."
During the planning process, the town did request that a traffic signal be added near the park, said Brighton Supervisor Sandra Frankel. However, Westfall Road is a county road, which means the county has the final say, she said.
(This information appeared in the New Jersey Law Journal)
