NY Court of Claims judge finds state 80% liable for crash

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A New York State Court of Claims judge has ruled that the state is 80% liable for a motor-vehicle collision that happened in Orange County in 2019.

Claimant Anthony Pilato sued the state after his car collided with a state-owned tractor-trailer driven by Christopher Morrison, an employee of the state Office of Mental Health.

Judge Linda K. Mejias-Glover held a trial on the issue of liability on May 22, 23 and 26, 2023 via Microsoft Teams.

Each side called three witnesses to testify.

The collision happened at 6:20 a.m., Oct. 24, 2019, on state Route 208 south of the intersection with Mountain Road in the town of Blooming Grove.

In the area of the crash, Route 208 is a two-lane highway with a painted double-yellow center line and white highway edge lines.

Pilato was driving a 2003 Toyota Echo north on Route 208. Morrison was driving a state-owned 2005 Freightliner tractor with an attached box trailer.

At the time of collision, Morrison was in the process of a left turn onto the southbound lane of Route 208 from a parking lot.

Pilato’s expert testified that, in his opinion, Morrison “failed to yield to Mr. Pilato, (and) failed to use reasonable judgment when exiting the parking lot.”

The state’s expert witness testified that “Morrison could not have done anything further to assure that he could turn safely,” according to the decision.

“The issue to be decided in this trial is whether Defendant owed a duty to claimant, whether defendant breached that duty, and whether the alleged breach was the proximate cause of Claimant’s injuries,” Mejias-Glover wrote.

“The record does not support a finding that Mr. Morrison violated any provision of the (state Vehicle and Traffic Law) and there were no citations issued at the scene of the accident,” she wrote.

“The Court is satisfied that Mr. Morrison attempted his left-turn out of the parking lot only once he ascertained that there were no vehicles immediately approaching, however, he was negligent in that he attempted this turn in a location too close in proximity to the foot of a hill at a blind curve, and that the turning radius available to him was insufficient to safely complete the turn,” she wrote.

She also ruled that Pilato “had a duty to slow down over the hill and around the curve so as to be prepared to avoid Mr. Morrison’s vehicle.”

“The Court finds that the record supports a finding that Mr. Pilato failed to slow down in an appropriate and sufficient manner so as to be prepared to stop once through the curve and over the hill,” she wrote.

“Although the Court finds that Mr. Morrison’s actions were a substantial factor in causing the accident, the Court finds that Mr. Pilato’s actions also contributed to the causation of the accident,” she wrote.

She ruled that Morrison was 80% liable and Pilato was 20% liable for the accident.

A trial will be scheduled to determine damages. [email protected] / (585) 232-2035