Dammit man, the NYPD on some other stuff. After Jesse Zorski got hit by a police car he got a bill in the mail. They hit him! The patrol car hit his left leg and of course he had to go to the hospital. Jesse says, “I was perfectly coherent. I was shocked, certainly, but not inebriated.” His mother paid the hospital bill because of a deductible, but later sued to get those monies back. A lawyer’s office, on behalf of the NYPD then sends Jesse a bill in the mail for damages made to the car. Really NYPD…REALLY! Drop down bottom for more.
Police said the patrol car had the right of way, but Zorski said he had the green light and that neither his hearing aid, necessitated by a childhood illness, nor the two beers he had that night played any role in the accident.
“I was perfectly coherent,” Zorski said. “I was shocked, certainly, but not inebriated.”
Zorski, a native of Maine, wasn’t badly hurt, but he was treated at New York Downtown Hospital.
Later, he was billed $1,200 for the ambulance and hospital. His mother, Elise Thibodeau, paid up because the family’s insurance has a $15,000 deductible.
The family sued the city to recover the money – and got in the mail another bill, this one from a law firm hired by the city to collect $1,028.08 to cover the cost of repairs to the patrol car.
“I try to have a real good attitude about the police because it’s not an easy job,” said Thibodeau, 59. “We were playing nice, but we couldn’t believe they would bill us. Somebody there has to say, ‘Whoa, this kid was in the crosswalk.’ ”
Zorski suggested the bill was retribution for the lawsuit.
“It does seem that when they realized we were going to sue they sent us the bill,” Zorski said.
After questions from The News, the NYPD acknowledged a mistake was made.
“The letter should not have been sent,” said Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne, the NYPD’s top spokesman. “We’re examining safeguards to make sure similar letters are not sent in the future.”
And the city Law Department said it has withdrawn the case after questioning by The News.
Thus far, however, neither Zorski nor his mother has received any word about the bill.
