25-year-old Jesse Zorski is “a tailor who works in fashion design.” Zorski was walking in Manhattan in the evening of April 12. On that day, Zorski walked on White Street and crossed Centre Street, when a police car drove and hit Zorski’s left leg. According to Zorski, after the police car struck his leg, he crashed into the car’s side-view mirror, and fell to the ground, where he landed on his wrist.
The police insist that while the officer drove along the intersection, the officer had the right of way, but Zorski disputes that fact. Zorski claims that he had the green light. Although Zorski consumed two beers that night and currently wears a hearing aid, those factors, he concedes, did not contribute to the accident. In fact, he states he “‘was perfectly coherent’” and was “‘not inebriated.’”
An ambulance responded to the scene and transported Zorski to New York Downtown Hospital, where he was treated for the injuries he received after he was struck by the police car.
Zorski was later billed $1,200 for the services he received as a result of the accident, the ambulance and the care he received at the hospital. Zorski’s mother, Elise Thibodeau, paid the bill because their family’s insurance contained a deductible of $15,000.
After Thibodeau paid, the family wanted to be reimbursed for the amount; therefore, the family filed a lawsuit against the city. The family later received something in the mail from the city, assuming that it was a check for the expenses they incurred, but the city instead billed Zorski for physical damage to the police car. The city billed Zorski for $1,028.08.
Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne informed New York Daily News that the bill was sent in error, but the family has yet to hear from NYPD about the bill.
