Woman Hit By Shopping Cart At East Harlem Mall Gets $45M: Reports

EAST HARLEM, NY — A woman who was nearly killed when she was struck by a falling shopping cart at an East Harlem mall has been awarded a seven-figure payout in a lawsuit against the mall and its security company, according to multiple reports.

Marion Hedges was awarded $41 million in damages last week with an additional $2.5 million awarded to her son and $2 million awarded to her husband, the New York Times reported. Hedges suffered serious brain damage in 2011 when a shopping cart fell more than 70 feet and hit her in the head when she was standing in the parking lot of the East River Plaza Mall on East 116th Street near the FDR Drive, according to the report.

The shopping cart fell on Hedges after it was thrown over a railing by two boys, who were 12- and 13-years-old at the time, the New York Post reported. The boys were both convicted as juveniles and sentenced to serve time in juvenile facilities, according to the report.

Hedges reportedly stood up and applauded the jury upon hearing the verdict, the Post reported. The Upper West Side resident plans to donate some of the money from the lawsuit to the Johnson Community Center on East 113th Street.

"We want to help Harlem kids have a chance to do something besides throw a shopping cart on a boring Sunday afternoon," Hedges told the Post.

Hedges' family sued Target, the East River Plaza Mall and Planned Security Service — a company that was contracted to provide security for the mall's common areas — for negligence, the Times reported. The woman settled her lawsuit with Target separately, the Post reported.

Hedges' lawyers argued that Planned Security Service failed to address an ongoing problem at the mall of people throwing objects from pedestrian walkways, the Times reported. A lawyer representing the security company told the Times it plans to appeal the decision.

"We all wish her well. We hope she can continue to improve. Unfortunately, this case will have to go on further," lawyer Jeffrey Van Etten told the Times.

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