Staten Island
A day at the beach turned out to be no picnic for a New Brighton woman when a city Parks Department vehicle hit her as she sunbathed, her lawyer said, according to the Staten Island Advance.
Aneta Kurkowska, 36, survived the harrowing incident at South Beach on last year's Memorial Day weekend, although she needed stitches and surgery, said her lawyer, Michael H. Bush.
Now, she's hoping to put the matter behind her after settling her civil lawsuit with the city for $300,000.
The episode occurred around 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 26, 2012, said court papers.
Ms. Kurkowska was lying on the beach sunbathing, near Sand Lane, when she "felt pressure on her head," according to a police accident report.
That "pressure" turned out to be the front end of a 2004 Ford suburban, which had struck her, court papers said.
Bush said it was not immediately clear why the vehicle, owned by Parks, was on the beach.
Ms. Kurkowska was taken by ambulance to Staten Island University Hospital, Ocean Breeze, where she received four medical staples to close a head wound, said Bush, a principal in the New Dorp firm Chelli & Bush.
She also was treated for neck, back and shoulder injuries, he said.
Ms. Kurkowska subsequently underwent left shoulder surgery.
Earlier this year, she sued the city in state Supreme Court, St. George.
In July, Justice Thomas P. Aliotta granted Ms. Kurkowska summary judgment on the issue of liability, over the city's objection and after oral arguments, said court papers.
The settlement was reached before the case could proceed to trial for damages.
A spokeswoman for the City Law Department said the settlement "was in the best interest of all parties."
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Staten Island Advance - December 30, 2013 - By Frank Donnelly
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