Verdict obtained against the MTA on behalf of a client who was injured in a bus accident.

Verdict obtained against the MTA on behalf of a client who was injured in a bus accident.

NEW YORK POST: A Bronx man who was seriously injured when a city bus barreled into his minivan won a $14.25 million jury award against the MTA after the transit authority’s expert witness admitted he’d recently had his medical license suspended over fraudulent exam reports.

Miguel de los Santos was driving his wife to her birthday dinner on Pelham Parkway near the Bronx Zoo in 2013 when an MTA bus shot across two lanes of traffic and barreled into his Honda Odyssey minivan, his attorney Eric Subin said.

The accident left the 66-year-old retired building superintendent with serious back injuries that required spinal reconstructive surgery, Subin said. The grandfather of 13 now “shuffles around with a cane,” Subin said. His wife, an NYPD officer, escaped with minor injuries. Yet the MTA’s medical expert, Dr. Roger Antoine, testified in Bronx Supreme Court on Nov. 15 that a February 2015 exam revealed de los Santos had normal muscle strength and range of motion in his back.

Antoine, a surgeon at Wyckoff Hospital in Brooklyn, admitted on cross-examination by Subin that he had “no memory” of examining de los Santos. 00:00 01:18 “Do you remember performing that exam?” Subin asked the doctor. “I do not remember,’ he answered. “No memory of it at all?” Subin queried. “No,” Antoine replied. Further, the doc acknowledged that in March he was temporarily barred from treating injured workers and performing independent medical exams.

A two-year investigation by the state Workman’s Compensation Board found Antoine had signed off on phony reports including one where the doctor said a victim was faking his injuries when he wasn’t. Subin said the report was fabricated by a “chaperone” paid for by the MTA who sat in on the exam, wrote notes about what happened, and then applied the doctor’s electronic signature. Antoine admitted during cross-examination that he is supposed to review and sign exam reports.

The four-woman, two-man jury reached the verdict in Bronx Supreme Court late Tuesday following a month-long trial. “I’m happy,” de los Santos said about the eight-figure award. “The MTA lied a lot. All the way from the [bus] driver to the doctor. But the jurors made their decision and they felt for me.” An MTA spokesman declined to comment and Dr. Antoine did not return calls.

https://nypost.com/2018/11/21/bronx-man-gets-14-5m-over-2013-mta-bus-crash/