On January 12, 2022, an appellate court modified a Brooklyn jury's verdict for pain and suffering of $3,000,000 ($2M past 3 years and $1M future 10 years) and reduced it to $2,000,000. The plaintiff was a 70 year old male roofer employed by a contractor to provide roofing services to the defendant NYC Housing Authority. A co-worker fell 20 feet off of a water tank and landed on the plaintiff resulting in multiple fractures to plaintiff's left hip. The surgery on his left hip resulted in a "foot drop" condition with constant leg pain due to nerve damage. Plaintiff spent 4 months in a rehab facility and ultimately required a total hip replacement. He was also diagnosed with a leg length discrepancy, constant pain and required crutches to walk even short distances.

The trial court declined to modify the award but the appellate court disagreed with not only the pain and suffering award but even the future lost wages awarded. The appellate court also reduced the amount awarded for future lost wages over 7 years from $132,000 to $99,000 based on the plaintiff's testimony that he had been earning $33,000 per year and had intended to work "as long as he could, maybe until age 76-77."  There was no challenge to the jury's award of $1,000,000 for past and future medical expenses or the award of $104,000 for past lost wages. Fortune v New York City Housing Authority, 2022 WL 108341