Christopher Pallotta lost part of his leg in a motorcycle crash two years ago, the man who was employed with the Staten Island Parks Department can no longer work. However he will now be able to work at rebuilding his life.
In September of 2008 Pallotta was riding his motorcycle when a 2006 Nissan driven by David V. Deliso careened through an intersection without stopping for the stop sign and struck him mangling his right leg. Pallotta underwent several painful operations and blood transfusions in an effort to save his leg, however the injuries were so severe that the leg had to be amputated below the knee. Pallotta then spent several months rehabilitating and leaning to function with his new handicap in a nursing home.
Pallotta sued the owners of the vehicle which struck him for personal injury. The case has did not go to trial as the attorneys for the parties involved were able to come to a settlement agreement. Christopher Pallotta will receive a $1 million settlement. That amount of money will allow him to continue his life and the search for a new career and development of new skills.
There are so many warnings about the dangers of riding motorcycles one would think that there were hundreds of thousands of motorcycle deaths each month, but the reality is that many motorcycle crashes, accidents and deaths aren’t caused by the motorcycle rider but by the people driving cars and trucks around them.
If Pallotta had been in a car the accident would have still occurred because Deliso ran a stop sign. Maybe the injuries wouldn’t have been as severe, but the fact remains that the damage is the fault of Deliso and not the motorcycle or the motorcycle rider.