Opinion
May 21, 1996
Appeal from the Court of Claims (Albert Blinder, J.).
The awards do not deviate materially from what would be reasonable compensation for these serious injuries (CPLR 5501 [c]). Claimant Wyatt received a gunshot wound to the abdomen that caused multiple perforations of the small bowel. A bowel resection was performed during which 15 and 20 centimeter segments of bowel were removed. Subsequent operations were performed, including a procedure to remove a growth in Wyatt's nasal cavity that left him with lost sensation in his face and a permanent indentation in his cheek, a femoral neurolysis to repair nerve damage that left him with a severe limp and a procedure to repair an incisional hernia. Claimant Plunkett was struck by a bullet that fragmented upon entering his hip, causing a loss of pulse in the groin area and a fracture of the neck of the left femur. He underwent three surgical procedures to remove the bullet fragments, to graft a portion of the bone and to insert a plate, wires and screws in the hip. His physical activities are greatly curtailed, and in all likelihood he will have to undergo a hip replacement in 10 or 15 years.
Concur — Milonas, J.P., Rosenberger, Rubin, Kupferman and Tom, JJ.