Woman, 24, sues Philadelphia 76ers co-owner Michael Rubin after she was left with brain injuries when she was hit by a chair that flew off the 12th-story balcony of his Manhattan penthouse
A woman has sued a Philadelphia 76ers co-owner after she was left with brain injuries when she was hit by a chair that flew off his penthouse balcony in Manhattan earlier this year.
Annabel Sen, then 23, was hospitalized on January 25 when the chair fell off a 12th-story balcony.
The accident happened at around 2.30pm in Manhattan's Union Square neighborhood as the Brown University graduate was on her way to lunch with her boyfriend.
Police said the wooden patio chair was apparently swept off the balcony during a steady rainstorm and hit Sen before crashing into a parked car.
According to the New York Post, Sen filed a lawsuit against the penthouse owner, GR Realty Holdings LLC, which is owned by Michael Rubin, whose net worth is about $3.5billion.
Annabel Sen (left), 24, has sued Philadelphia 76ers co-owner, Michael Rubin (right), after she was left with brain injuries when she was hit by a chair that flew off his penthouse balcony in Manhattan.
The accident happened at around 2.30pm in Manhattan's Union Square neighborhood as the Brown University graduate was on her way to lunch with her boyfriend. Authorities are pictured at the scene of the accident where the wooden chair fell (left)
Police said the wooden patio chair (pictured) was apparently swept off the balcony during a steady rainstorm and hit Sen before crashing into a parked car
Rubin is not only part co-owner of the 76ers, but he also co-owns the New Jersey Devils hockey franchise.
According to the lawsuit, Sen 'suffered a severe, life-threatening, traumatic brain injury, among other injuries, that required emergency brain surgery'.
Since the incident, Sen has had two more brain surgeries. 'Sen has been unable to attend to her usual vocation and activities,' the lawsuit says.
In addition to having to pay for her medical expenses, she 'has suffered and will necessarily suffer in the future additional loss of time and earnings from employment'.
Also named in the suit are Brown Harris Stevens Residential Management, LLC and penthouse residents Henrique Dubugras and Pedro Franceschi.
Dubugras and Franceschi are both co-founders of finance and tech company Brex, which is valued at $2.6billion.
The chair fell from the 12-floor balcony of this building. At the time of the accident, Brex founders, Henrique Dubugras and Pedro Franceschi, were reportedly renting out the penthouse
Sen's lawyer, Benedict Morelli, told the Post that it was a 'miracle' that the chair didn't kill his client.
'There was really no reason for this to happen. You either bring the furniture in — especially if you’re not going to be there for a long time — or you tie it down. There are a number of people who could and should have done that,' Morelli said.
According to Morelli, Sen, who is now 24, had to leave Manhattan and move to Connecticut to live with her parents.
Morelli said Sen, who previously worked for a private equity firm, was supposed to attend Harvard University this fall to obtain her master's degree.
Morelli said Sen will not be heading to school and will instead try to recuperate as much as possible.
'She has cognitive deficits. This was a young woman who was very gifted before the accident and we are hoping she gets back all of her faculties,' Morelli told the Post.
A spokesperson for Rubin told the newspaper that the billionaire 'has not lived in that apartment' because it was being rented to Dubugras and Franceschi at the time of the accident.
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