A six-member jury has ruled against a volunteer firefighter who sued for pain and suffering from the loss of his leg after being hit by a car as he rushed to an emergency call in Seaford.
On Nov. 14, 2010, Steven Hochman was hit by a car driven by Kevin McCarthy, of Seaford, a retired NYPD officer.
Besides McCarthy, Hochman sued his fire captain at the time, Thomas Cattone, saying Cattone had parked his pickup truck on the sidewalk across the street from the firehouse, blocking Hochman from seeing the oncoming vehicle, and the driver from seeing him step from the sidewalk as he hurried to the firehouse.
No criminal charges were filed in relation to the accident.
On July 20, the jury in the case being presided over by Nassau Supreme Court Justice Leonard D. Steinman found neither man at fault.
Hochman’s attorney, Robert Danzi of Westbury, said he will appeal the verdict.
“I talked to jurors afterward, and they believed Cattone was parked on the sidewalk blocking visibility,” he said. “But the judge’s charge to jury was that we had to show that Cattone was willfully negligent. We think his charge was too severe and that he misapplied the law.”
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