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$97,500 Awarded in NY Prison Work Accident
On July 19, 1999, a Binghamton county court in New York awarded $97,500 in damages to Fred Thomas for an eye injury he suffered. while imprisoned in a New York state prison in 1993.
Thomas, then a 33-year-old prisoner at the Elmira Correctional Facility, was injured when an electric drill bit shattered and a piece struck him in the right eye. He was taken to a hospital where a physician removed substantially all of the vitreous fluid, removed the drill bit fragment with a laser, and burned the immediate area of the retina where the fragment had been impregnated, leaving Thomas with 20/400 vision in the eye.
At a prior trial the State of New York was found 65% liable for the occurrence of the accident, with Thomas bearing the remaining liability. The court awarded $50,000 for past pain and suffering and $100,000 for loss of visual acuity; the total award was reduced by 35°o to a total of $97,500. See: Fred Thomas v. State of New York, Binghamton County Court of Claims, Claim No. 90205.
Source: The New York Jury Verdict Reporter
Thomas, then a 33-year-old prisoner at the Elmira Correctional Facility, was injured when an electric drill bit shattered and a piece struck him in the right eye. He was taken to a hospital where a physician removed substantially all of the vitreous fluid, removed the drill bit fragment with a laser, and burned the immediate area of the retina where the fragment had been impregnated, leaving Thomas with 20/400 vision in the eye.
At a prior trial the State of New York was found 65% liable for the occurrence of the accident, with Thomas bearing the remaining liability. The court awarded $50,000 for past pain and suffering and $100,000 for loss of visual acuity; the total award was reduced by 35°o to a total of $97,500. See: Fred Thomas v. State of New York, Binghamton County Court of Claims, Claim No. 90205.
Source: The New York Jury Verdict Reporter
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Related legal case
Fred Thomas v. State of New York
| Year | 1999 |
|---|---|
| Cite | Binghampton Co., Claim No. 90205 |
| Level | Court of Claims |
| Conclusion | Bench Verdict |
| Damages | 97500 |
| Injunction Status | N/A |
No other case information is available at this time.