SKETCHES OF COURT: School bus matron sues city for injuries sustained by unruly child
In this courtroom sketch, Hon. Mark Partnow listens as attorney Jason Herbert (standing), of the law firm Krentsel & Guzman, conducts a direct examination of the plaintiff in the trial of Migdalia DeStefano v. City of New York. Seated at right is defendant’s attorney Patrick Sean Costello, of the law firm Silverman Shin & Byrne PLLC.
The plaintiff is a school bus matron employed by a transit company in contract with the New York City Department of Education and is responsible for assisting special education students during transportation to and from school.
During a bus ride to school in November 2011, a disruptive child attempted to take control of the ride by grabbing the steering wheel while the bus was in motion. The plaintiff alleges that she was injured when she fell into the bus stairwell as the driver — in having to wrest control from the unruly child — brought the school bus to a sudden halt on Rockaway Avenue in Brooklyn.
Brooklyn Boro
View MoreNew York City’s most populous borough, Brooklyn, is home to nearly 2.6 million residents. If Brooklyn were an independent city it would be the fourth largest city in the United States. While Brooklyn has become the epitome of ‘cool and hip’ in recent years, for those that were born here, raised families here and improved communities over the years, Brooklyn has never been ‘uncool’.