Page images
PDF
EPUB

34

Order Appealed From.

upon the grounds that the said verdict is contrary to law, contrary to the evidence and contrary to the weight of evidence, and the verdict of the jury in the sum of $5,000 is hereby set aside and a new trial of said action is hereby directed.

Enter

M. M.,

J. S. C.

[blocks in formation]

Before: Hon. MITCHELL May and a jury.

Brooklyn, N. Y., June 5th and 8th, 1931.

APPEARANCES :

JOSEPH F. RUGGIERI, Esq., Attorney for Plaintiff;

36

WILLIAM A. EARL, Esq. (John P. CARSON, Esq.,

of Counsel), Attorney for Defendant.

SEBASTIAN PORRAZZO, being duly sworn, testified, through an interpreter, as follows:

Direct examination by Mr. Ruggieri.

Q. Where do you live? A. 365 Crescent Street, Brooklyn.

Sebastian PorrazzoPlaintiff-Direct.

37

Q. How old are you, Mr. Porrazzo?

A. 64

years old.

38

Q. You mean now you are 64 years old?
A. I think so.

Q. On the 1st day of August, 1927, at about
11 A. M., did you have an accident? A. Yes, sir.

Q. Was that accident at the northwest corner of 14th Street and Third Avenue? A. Yes, sir.

Q, Just tell us how that accident happened? A. I was walking on 14th Street going towards Second Avenue. On the corner of Third Avenue and 14th Street, there was a crowd of people there. I go with the crowd, and they were over there at the corner, and the moment the automobiles stopped from going up and down they all started to cross, and I crossed with the rest. When I was about five or six feet from the curb of the sidewalk I saw towards 15th Street another automobile coming along. I can't tell you whether it was going fast or not, but while I kept on walking, and I had reached the second track, this automobile came and struck me down.

Q. Do you mean this defendant's automobile, this defendant here? A. Yes, sir.

The Court: How far were you from the curb when this thing happened?

The Witness: About 50 feet.

39

Q. Mr. Porrazzo, did these other people whom you stated stopped at the corner of Third Avenue and 14th Street cross at the same time you did ? A. Yes, sir.

Q. Did you look around to see what was coming? A. Yes.

Q. Where did you see this defendant's automobile at the time you saw it first? A. About 100

[merged small][ocr errors]

40

Sebastian Porrazzo-Plaintiff-Direct.

41

Q. Where was it, towards what direction, 15th Street or 13th Street? A. From 15th Street.

Q. Where did this automobile strike you, Mr. Porrazzo? A. Here (indicating the left hip).

Q. What happened to you after the automobile struck you there? A. I didn't see anything after that. I don't know.

Q. Did you remain standing or were you thrown to the ground? A. I was thrown down to the ground.

Q. What part of this automobile struck you, do you know? A. The front part of the automobile.

Q. Were you then taken to a hospital ? A. I don't know.

Q. When you first realized what happened were you in a hospital? A. Yes, I was then in the hospital.

Q. Is that St. Marks Hospital? A. Yes, sir.

Q. Tell us how long you remained at St. Marks Hospital? A. 11 days.

Q. During that 11 days were you in bed or were you up and around the ward? A. For about six or seven days I was laid down in bed, and I couldn't move. After that the nurses they told me to get up a little bit and try to walk around.

Q. Did they treat you while you were in bed ? A. Yes, sir.

Q. What treatment did they give you, if any? A. They bandaged me all around my chest and sides, on the back and shoulders, all over.

Q. What, if anything, did they do, if you remember? A. After bandaging the sides and back then they put my arm against my chest and bandaged the arm also.

42

Sebastian PorrazzoPlaintiff-Direct.

43

Q. How long did you have this bandage that they put on you? A. Altogether about 55 or 56 days.

Q. Did you have your arm in a sling all that time? A. Yes.

Q. During the time that you remained at the hospital did you feel any pain in and about your body? A. Yes, plenty.

Q. Tell the court and jury where you felt the pains and what those pains consisted of? A. On my left shoulder and back.

Q. How long did these pains remain with you? A. I had those pains for almost two years.

44 Q. Did you ever have any of those pains before the date of this accident? A. No, sir.

Q. Do you at any time now, this present day, have any pain? A. When the weather changes I have pains in my back and shoulder.

Q. After you left the hospital, in which I understand you were 11 days, did you then go home? A. Yes, sir.

Q. Did you ever return back to that hospital ? A. Yes, sir.

Q. How long after you arrived home did you return to the hospital? A. I remained home about 15 days.

Q. During those 15 days that you remained at home were you in bed, or in and about the 45 house? A. I was in bed.

Q. When you returned back to the hospital pursuant to whose orders did you return there? A. The doctor in the hospital.

Q. Do you mean the doctor ordered you to return to the hospital, is that correct? A. Yes.

Q. What did they do to you after you returned to the hospital? A. They tightened up the bandages. They were loose before that and they tightened them up.

46

Sebastian PorrazzoPlaintiff —Direct.

47

Q. Did they later remove the bandages from your chest, shoulder and back? A. 40 days after that.

Q. Who removed the bandages ? A. The doctor.

Q. At the hospital? A. Yes.

Q. Was there any difference in the movement of your arm or shoulder prior to the time of the accident to the time that those bandages were removed? A. It was plenty of difference, I couldn't move my arm.

Q. Did you have free movement of your arm before the accident? A. Yes, sir, very good movement.

Q. After the accident how far could you move your arm? · A. I couldn't stretch or raise my arm, I had to keep the arm near my chest.

Q. Just show us how you can raise the arm? A. No more than this (indicating his hand against his chest).

Q. All the time these bandages were on you did you feel any pain? A. Yes, sir.

Q. Mr. Porrazzo, did you then go back to the hospital for baking and massage treatment? A. Yes.

Q. Pursuant to whose orders did you return for those treatments? A. The doctor.

Q, How many times approximately did you return there for baking or massage treatment? A. About 10 or 12 times.

Q. Just tell the court and jury exactly, as near as you can, what that treatment consisted of, what did they do to you? A. They laid me down on a table and put electric currents through my side and arm. To alleviate the pain I had in the arm, they used to give me baking, too.

1

48

[ocr errors]
« PreviousContinue »