UTICA, N.Y. – A judge in Central New York has ordered parties in a personal injury action to either accept a seven-fold increase in a jury award, or prepare for a new trial on damages.
The relatively uncommon decision by Justice Robert F. Julian comes in the case of a 1994 automobile accident in which a 15-year-old passenger broke his left leg and right foot. Kenneth DeRito, the plaintiff, was totally disabled for several months and will continue to suffer pain and inconvenience resulting from the accident, according to a decision released this week.
