BUFFALO, N.Y. - The family of the three year old boy who died after being hit by a car near Delaware Park in May of 2015 has filed a legal complaint against the City of Buffalo, Erie County and the driver of the vehicle, according to the family attorney.
Maksym Sugorovskiy, as well as his mother and sister, was struck by a car while crossing Ring Road near Route 198 alongside Delaware Park. Since then, several changes have been made to the road including a lower speed limit.
Maksym died from injuries he suffered while his sister was able to recover.
Attorney Barry Covert, who is not affiliated with this case, says if it goes to a jury, the jury would decide how much money to award the family since an amount is not determined in the lawsuit.
"No dollar amount could ever compensate the family for losing their 3-year-old son. And then for the 5-year-old, who lost her 3-year-old sibling and is going to have to deal with that emotionally and physically the rest of the 5-year-old's life, and the parents dealing with the tragedy of what occurred that day," says Covert.
"What do you think the chances are of the family getting something in this lawsuit?” asked 2 On Your Side’s Kelly Dudzik.
"Pretty significant. I mean, I don't want to predict it, but obviously there's a horrible tragedy here. There's no question that the driver was negligent. Went into the bike path. And while there may be a question some people's minds as to the city and county's liability, they've already lowered the speed limit, they've already changed the safety in that area, they've pretty much conceded that the way it was configured before put people, pedestrians, or bikers on the bike path, at that specific area, in danger of this," says Covert.
Covert says in the civil system, it's not unheard of for lawsuits to take two to five years to play out. He says it also depends on whether there are successful settlement discussions early on, and if there are, any amount agreed upon could be confidential.
The Sugorovskiy family also filed a legal claim against New York State in February of 2016.
You can read the lawsuit below. 2 On Your Side has redacted the name of the driver, as he has not been charged with a crime.