The 63-year-old Memorial Sloan Kettering breast cancer surgeon recently filed a lawsuit in a Manhattan civil court after being injured in a collision involving two cars.
Events unfolded at approximately 7 a.m. on Sept. 8 as the world-renowned oncology surgeon made her way up York Avenue toward the hospital for her first surgery of the day. Two drivers got into an accident, and the impact caused both vehicles to wind up on the sidewalk, striking her as she walked to work.
The accident injured her right hand and wrist as well as her leg. Her petition for damages states that 18 days after the accident, the doctor also had to have surgery to put a screw into her damaged wrist.
The surgeon says she has not been able to operate on any patients since the accident. Her lawsuit claims that she may never again be able to perform surgery. Prior to the collision, court documents claim that she was considered to be one of “the top five breast-cancer surgeons in the world,” whose patients come to her from distant countries.
Her complaint alleges that her “injuries…will disable her…for at least three and perhaps many more months, and may be permanent, potentially disabling [her] from performing surgery ever again.” She claims to operate on 300 breast cancer patients each year and earn a seven-figure salary. In addition to her surgical duties, she is also a surgical professor at Weill Cornell Medical College. She is seeking $10 million in damages.
Plaintiffs who get injured due to an at-fault driver’s negligence have the right to pursue damages for lost and future wages if they are left disabled from the accident.
Source: New York Post, “Top surgeon sues drivers over hand injury that could end career,” Emily Saul, Oct. 04, 2016
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