New York partner Larry Lum and of counsel Stacey Seltzer convinced a jury to apportion 50 percent comparative fault to the plaintiff after a three-week trial in Bronx County Supreme Court involving a pedestrian knockdown by our client’s freight truck. Plaintiff claims truck backed into him while he was in a crosswalk, sending him flying and requiring transport by ambulance a cervical discectomy and lumbar fusion surgeries. While the driver was obligated to yield to pedestrians, the jury nevertheless apportioned 50 percent comparative fault to the plaintiff for failing to look both ways as he crossed the street.  The plaintiff’s settlement demand before the trial was $6.5 million. During seven hours of deliberations, the jury asked for a read-back of the direct examination of plaintiff’s expert economist, and ultimately awarded plaintiff, after reduction for the 50 percent comparative fault, $29,000. Despite the high probability of a liability finding, the client not only allowed us to try the case but also allowed the Bronx jury to assess damages in this highly volatile venue.