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A woman from New York involved in a shopping cart accident has been awarded $45 million by a jury, reports the New York Times.
Back in October 2011, Marion Hedges and her 13-year-old son Dayton were shopping for Halloween candy for children in need. While they were at the parking lot, a shopping cart struck Hedges’ head from a height of four stories or 70 feet and she collapsed on the spot.
Now 53, Hedges, a philanthropist and real estate broker, still suffers from serious brain damage, double vision and memory loss. Dayton, now 19, said his mother no longer has the capacity to work or volunteer.
The jury decided that the boys, then 12 and 13, who were respinsible for pushing the cart down, were 10 percent responsible for the injuries. The security company, Planned Security Service, was considered 25 percent responsible and the mall, East River Plaza Mall, 65 percent responsible.
Target, which owned the shopping cart, settled with the family for an undisclosed sum.
Hedges and her family sued only the security company and the mall. The boys who shoved the shopping cart from the mall’s overpass pleaded guilty and served time in juvenile centers.
Hedges asked for $83 million for her and her family: $75 million for herself, $6 million for her son who is supposedly still traumatized from the incident, and $2.5 million for her husband, Michael Hedges, who said they could no longer have sex.
The jury awarded $41 million to Hedges, $2.5 million to her son and $2 million to her husband on Friday, June 15.
Her lawyer, Thomas Moore, argued that the incident was avoidable and that there were similar cases of children mishandling shopping carts in the same year. Planned Security Service was tasked to keep common areas safe, including the walkway.
The security company’s lawyer, Jeffrey Van Etten, said the decision would be appealed. Niña V. Guno /ra
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