Woman hit by city bus gets $37M for pain and suffering alone
A New York City bus operated by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority is seen in New York on Aug. 7. (Photo by Marcin Golba/NurPhoto via the Associated Press)
A woman who was hit and dragged by a city bus in Manhattan, New York City, has been awarded $37 million for pain and suffering—thought to be the largest such award granted by the Appellate Division’s First Judicial Department of the New York Supreme Court, according to Law.com.
Aurora Beauchamp was struck by a Metropolitan Transportation Authority bus while crossing the street in 2017 and was dragged about 20 feet before the bus stopped on top of her legs, Law.com reported.
A jury in February 2024 awarded Beauchamp $72.5 million, but a three-judge panel from the appellate court reduced the award for past and future pain and suffering from $25 million and $32 million to $20 million and $17 million, respectively. It also reduced her husband’s loss-of-service awards to $2.6 million and trimmed Beauchamp’s future medical expenses to $8.24 million, Law.com reported.
It is still thought to be the largest pain-and-suffering award for which the First Judicial Department has ever signed off.
The attorney for the defendants, who had argued that the jury’s damages awards were excessive, did not return Law.com’s request for comment.
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