On 11/20/08 a jury in the Supreme Court, Westchester County awarded $770,000 to a 49-year-old construction worker who was struck by a motor vehicle in a left only turning lane while attempting to go straight and in order to cut off the vehicle to his right. Despite the responding Police Officer quoting Plaintiff’s admission at the accident scene that Plaintiff crossed against the red traffic light and did not see Defendant’s car, the physical evidence established otherwise, namely, that the defendant lurched forward in an effort to cut off the vehicle to his right. Plaintiffs’ application for a Unified Trial in this 2nd Department case was granted based upon the Court finding that the proof to be offered regarding the cause of the injury was so intertwined with liability as to warrant a full trial of all issues. Plaintiff’s orthopedic-surgeon testified that the injury could only be caused by direct blunt trauma to the left lower leg consistent with contact with a bumper and not by simply falling to the ground. Plaintiff sustained a Grade III open fracture, which necessitated surgery. He made an excellent recovery after missing eight months of work.