BUFFALO, N.Y. -- It's a document that outlines the tragedy of last May 30, and it aims to hold the City of Buffalo, Erie County and the driver of a 2011 Chevy responsible.
"This is a very serious case. Someone died, there are broken bones, somebody lost a brother, somebody lost a child," said John Elmore, attorney with the Law Offices of Steve Boyd and John Elmore.
The document, dated April 27, outlines the lawsuit filed against those defendants by the family of three-year-old Maksym Sugorovskiy. Among its claims: that the city and county needlessly endangered the public by not ensuring Ring Road in Delaware Park was safe for use by the public and that both were negligent and careless in designing and maintaining the road.
Elmore says this could prove to be one of the case's challenges.
"For the plaintiffs' lawyer, it's to find an expert on highway design to show that it should've been designed better, and experts, that costs a lot of money to do that. The city, I think the big challenge for them is to take emotion out of it, because a jury, when they see what happened, they're going to be very, very emotional," said Elmore.
The suit also claims the negligence of the driver, who we are not naming because he was not charged with any crime, caused the death of Maksym and injury to his mother and sister.
Elmore said the financial outcomes could vary against each defendant.
"Most insurance policies for automobiles are very, very small, but the County, the City, the State - they have unlimited amounts of money," said Elmore.
As for changes put into effect following Maksym's death, including barriers along the roadway and a reduced speed limit, Elmore says law prevents subsequent remedial measures from being entered into evidence.
"If somebody has something that's dangerous, you want them to repair it right away. You don't want them to not repair it for fear it may be used against you in a lawsuit," he said.
Elmore says next up those involved will exchange documents needed for evidence. More depositions and legal motions could follow. Elmore said if there's no settlement, and the case does go to trial, that may not happen for another two to three years.
We reached out to both the City of Buffalo and Erie County for comment. A spokesperson for the city said it does not comment on pending litigation. We did not immediately hear back from the county.