Transit Authority Right to Collateral Hearing in $110 Million Worker Verdict

The New York Transit Authority was entitled to a special hearing to determine whether a multimillion-dollar jury award for a paralyzed employee could have been offset by insurance coverage under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act .

In a case of first impression, the Appellate Division of the New York Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that a trial court should have granted the transit authority a collateral hearing to determine whether a $110 million jury award for Robert Liciaga could be compensated by an ACA policy.

Mr. Liciaga was paralyzed after he was hit in the back by a railroad tie during a 2016 project to replace a section of railroad in Brooklyn. A jury said the transit authority’s negligence caused the accident and found the agency liable for the injury.

The jury awarded Mr. Liciaga $9 million for past pain and suffering, $60 million for future pain and suffering, $1.17 million for past medical expenses and $40 million for future medical expenses.

The transit authority argued that the award was excessive and should have been granted a hearing to determine whether Mr. Liciaga’s future medical expenses could be covered by an ACA policy.

The appeals court said the trial court erred in denying the rehearing request and that the defendants were entitled to show that an ACA policy could pay for future medical treatment “in a manner that would reduce his future medical expenses by millions of dollars “.