New York woman receives $35 million in damages after glass door shattered

A former JPMorgan Chase analyst has been awarded $35 million after suffering permanent brain damage when a glass door at a Manhattan building shattered. The accident ended her investment banking career.

The incident occurred in 2015 when 36-year-old Meghan Brown was leaving a physical therapy appointment in Manhattan, New York, when a glass door of a building suddenly shattered.

During the three-week trial in Manhattan Supreme Court, judges were shown shocking surveillance video of the incident, in which a 7.5-foot-tall lobby door appeared to explode as Brown walked past.

“I do remember seeing glass in the lobby, everywhere around me,” Megan Brown said, according to the New York Post.

Brown suffered a traumatic brain injury that ended her investment banking career.

“One of the biggest problems I have with my brain is that I can’t believe it,” she said in emotional testimony on March 12, according to a trial transcript reviewed by The Washington Post.

After a roughly three-week trial, a six-person jury ruled in Brown’s favor, finding the building’s owner, 271 Madison Co., at fault.

The judge blamed her injuries on the owner’s negligence.

In front of the judges, Brown described how the accident changed her life. She could no longer do normal things, which caused problems in her relationships.

In a video from February 2, 2015, Brown walks up to the door and pushes it open.

Then a man who was on the phone put his hand on the door. Suddenly, the hall door glass shattered.

“I don’t remember the moment the door fell on me, but I remember being inside and I was lying on the floor,” Brown said.

Brown has faced many questions since the accident.

Doctors said she suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and that she had a host of other problems, including sensitivity to light, constant headaches and difficulty with balance.

Although Brown tried to return to work, including a brief stint at a cryptocurrency firm, she was unable to continue working at an investment bank.

Now, she runs a small ice cream shop in Naples, Florida.

According to the New York Post, Brown’s attorney Tom Moore emphasized the owner’s negligence, “Clearly, Megan received no warning and she was walking into a tragic trap.”

In response, the owner’s lawyer Thomas Sofield argued that the incident was a freak accident and could not have been avoided. He questioned the seriousness of Brown’s injuries and accused her of making up false symptoms to get money.

Ultimately, the jury awarded Brown $35,184,208 in damages.