An Upper West Side real estate broker was awarded $45.2 million by a jury on Friday, seven years after she was nearly killed by a falling shopping cart tossed from an overpass by a group of teens.
The victim, Marion Hedges, was on hand for the decision, and reportedly "shook with emotion when the verdict was announced," according to the Post ("But she didn’t shed a tear because a side effect of her brain damage is the inability to cry," the tabloid notes, helpfully.)
The verdict culminates a lengthy legal battle, which began when Hedges was nearly killed by a shopping cart while buying candy for needy children at the East River Plaza mall in Harlem. Two boys, ages 12 and 13, were seen throwing the cart from a walkway, and eventually pleaded guilty. "Me and [the other boy] threw a shopping cart off the fourth floor of the mall," one of them said in Family Court.
Hedes suffered brain injuries from the toss, and had to be placed in a medically-induced coma. She continues to suffer from cognitive issues as a result of those injuries, the Daily News reports, and testified in court earlier this week that she struggles with routine tasks, and can no longer be physically intimate with her husband.
She reportedly forgave the boys soon after waking up from her coma, weeks after the incident. The same year, Hedges and her family sued the East River Plaza mall, its security company, and Target for negligence. On Friday, the jury found that the two boys were 10 percent responsible for the woman's injuries, that the mall was 65 percent responsible, and that Planned Security Services were 25 percent responsible.
The family plans to donate a portion of the award to a local youth center.
"I just want to be able to do something with the money that helps kids in Harlem, I really do," Hedges said Friday. "We want to help Harlem kids have a chance to do something besides throw a shopping cart on a boring Sunday afternoon."
