Hempstead Town Approves $350K Accident Claim Settlement At Tuesday Meeting

HEMPSTEAD, NY — The Town of Hempstead settled a court case at its Tuesday meeting, ending a legal proceeding that began about three years and one week ago between town resident Cristina Adames and the town, Nassau County and a town parks department employee.

In a complaint filed Apr. 6 2023, Adames claimed that the town had been negligent in its maintenance of a vehicle driven by parks department employee Clarence Shelton, the employee named in the suit. That vehicle, the complaint further alleges, was involved in an accident with Adames’ vehicle on Nov. 14, 2022, on Peninsula Boulevard near the Southern State Parkway. Also alleged in the civil complaint was negligence on the part of Shelton, who had been driving the vehicle at the time of the accident. Had Shelton exercised what plaintiffs attorneys called "due care and caution," the accident might have been prevented, Adames' attorneys argued.

Adames claimed through her attorneys in the complaint that the accident left her with serious, injuries to her right shoulder, cervical spine and lumbar spine, which required several surgeries after the fact. Included in the injuries named are a torn biceps tendon and labrum in the shoulder, five bulging discs in her spine, ligament injuries and more.

The town, the parks department and Shelton denied most of Adames’ initial claims through their attorney, John Maccarone, in an April of 2023 filing which sought to have the claim dismissed. In addition to denying many of the claims and denying having sufficient information to form an opinion on others, the town said Adames had failed to comply with vehicle and traffic law in New York during the accident, including claiming that she hadn’t worn a seatbelt.

After three years and more than 60 documented filings in Nassau County Supreme Court, the case was settled Tuesday. Town Supervisor John Ferretti recused himself from voting on the approval of items 39 and 40 in the administrative calendar at Tuesday’s meeting, one of which authorized the case’s settlement while the other authorized the financing thereof.