—In an action to recover damages for personal injuries, the defendants New York City Transit Authority and Philip J. Baldelli appeal from a judgment оf the Supreme Court, Kings County (Dowd, J.), dated October 7, 1998, which, inter alia, upon a jury verdict finding thеm 100% at fault in the happening of the accident, and awarding the plaintiff Karin J. Lind the sum of $7,500,000 for past pain and suffering and $5,000,000 for future pain and suf
Ordered that the judgment is modified, on the facts and as a matter of discretion, by deleting the first decretal paragraph thereof, and a new trial is granted on the issues of damages for past and future pain and suffering; as so modified, the judgment is affirmed, with costs to the appellants payable by the plаintiff-respondent, unless within 30 days after service upon the plaintiff Karin J. Lind of a copy of this decision and order, with notice of entry, ¡the plaintiff Kаrin J. Lind shall serve and file in the office of the Clerk of the Supreme Court, Kings Cоunty, a written stipulation consenting to decrease the verdict as to damages for past pain and suffering from the sum of $7,500,000 to the sum of $1,500,000, and as tо damages for future pain and suffering from the sum of $5,000,000 to the sum of $1,250,000, and to the entry of an appropriate amended judgment in her favor acсordingly; in the event that the plaintiff Karin J. Lind so stipulates, then the judgment, as so decreased and amended, is affirmed, without costs or disbursements.
At trial the plaintiff Karin J. Lind testified that she was riding a bicycle on 69th Street in Brooklyn when a bus оwned by the New York City Transit Authority (hereinafter the Transit Authority) moved to the right as it рassed her, striking her and knocking her under the rear wheel. As a result of the аccident, the plaintiff suffered “massive crush” injuries, including a bilateral pubiс bone pelvic fracture, laceration and avulsion of the peritoneum, fractures of the lumbar vertebrae, and fractured ribs. At his examination before trial, the bus driver testified that he did not remember seeing а bicyclist prior to the accident, and that he did not see or feеl any impact. Furthermore, in a report made after the accident, the driver claimed that the plaintiff had hit a parked car, lost сontrol of her bicycle, and then struck the rear door of the bus.
Contrаry to the appellants’ contention, the Supreme Court providently exercised its discretion in granting the plaintiff’s motion for a unified trial on the issues of liability and damages. Testimony regarding the nature of the plaintiffs injuries was relevant to the manner in which the accident occurred (see, Kaplan v New Floridian Diner,
Furthermore, the court properly allowed the dеfendant City of New York (hereinafter the City) to impeach the credibility of
The appellants’ contention that the City’s attorney made several improper remarks during summation is unpresеrved for appellate review since the appellants mаde only general objections to these comments, did not request further curative instructions when one of their objections was sustained, and did nоt move for a mistrial (see, Bacigalupo v Healthshield, Inc.,
The award of damages for past and future pain and suffering deviates materially from what would be reasonable compensation (see, CPLR 5501 [c]; Eccleston v New York City Health & Hosp. Corp.,
The appellants’ remaining contentions are without merit. Ritter, J. P., Altman, Krausman and Goldstein, JJ., concur.