SHORT TAKES : Jury Upholds Ex-Ballerina’s Case
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NEW YORK — A jury has ruled that both the city and former New York Yankee infielder Andre Robertson were responsible for a 1983 car crash in which a former ballerina was paralyzed.
After the Thursday verdict, State Supreme Court Justice Ira Gammerman instructed the jurors to return today to determine how much money Shanikwa Dawn Nowlin should get for her injuries and future costs of medicine, medical equipment and health care.
Nowlin, who at 14 had been the youngest member of the Dance Theatre of Harlem, is seeking a total of $20 million.
The jury found that the city was 67% responsible for the crash because of improper placement of a warning sign of an upcoming curve on the West Side Highway. The panel found that Robertson was 33% responsible because he exceeded the 40-m.p.h. speed limit as he entered the curve.
The accident broke Nowlin’s back and left her paralyzed from the waist down.
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