Verdicts and Settlements
TOP 20 PERSONAL INJURY AWARDS OF THE YEAR
Ten Honorable Mentions Over $2.5 Million
$2.5M in Truck-Crash Case
Doe v. Solid Waste Services
Inc.:
A trash hauling company agreed on March 3 to pay $2.5 million to
a motorist injured in a crash with one of its tractor-trailers, settling a suit
in Essex County.
[The motorist] was driving on the New Jersey Turnpike near Newark on July 23, 2001, when the truck tried to move from the left to the right lane, hitting the left front of his car. The car struck a guardrail, turned 180 degrees and lodged under the truck's trailer.
[The motorist] sued Solid Waste Services Inc. of Harrisburg, Pa., and its truck-owning subsidiary J.P. Mascaro & Sons, arguing the truck driver negligently changed lanes when [the victim]'s car was in his blind spot.
[The motorist] suffered severe clavicle and left hip fractures and a ruptured urethra that resulted in incontinence and partial sexual dysfunction. [He] is still employed as an administrator in Jersey City, but has nerve damage in his left foot, which makes walking difficult, said his lawyer, Gabriel Lependorf, of Lependorf & Silverstein in Princeton, who was assisted in the case by partner David Silverstein.
The defendants, represented by Stephan Fenster, a partner at Gallo Geffner & Fenster in Paramus, were prepared to contest liability and argue that [the victim] failed to undergo a medical procedure that might have mitigated his incontinence and sexual dysfunction.
The case had been listed for trial. The settlement was reached after two days of mediation with retired Superior Court Judge Edward Seaman.
The defendants had a $1 million policy with Wausau Insurance of Wausau, Wisc., and an excess coverage policy with AIG of New York.
- NEW JERSEY LAW JOURNAL, September 15, 2003
Arbitrator Awards $1.2 Million for Neck, Back Injuries in Car Crash
Poole v. National Fire Insurance Co. of Pittsburgh: An arbitration panel on June 4 recommended an underinsured motorist's insurance award of $1.2 million for a woman's neck and back injuries in a rear-end car crash, though the plaintiff will recover only $9,000,000 in UIM benefits.
Sharon Poole, a saleswoman, was driving a company vehicle on Route 130 in East Windsor on April 25, 1997, when it was hit by another car, says her attorney, Gabriel Lependorf.
Poole, 49, formerly of East Windsor and now of Doylestown, Pa., had two disc removals and vertebrae fusions, and a vertebrae decompression. She is unable to work because of her injuries, says Lependorf, who handled the case together with David Silverstein, his partner at Lependorf & Silverstein in Princeton.
Allstate Insurance Co., the carrier for the other car's driver, paid Poole its full $100,000 bodily injury coverage. Pool then sought UIM coverage from National Fire Insurance Co. of Pittsburgh, the insurer for her employer at the time, Moore North America of Parsippany.
When National Fire refused Poole's request for its $1 million policy limit, she sued in Mercer County Superior Court. The case was referred to binding arbitration, as the policy required in coverage disputes, Lependorf says.
National Fire paid $900,000 because it was able to count Allstate's $100,000 payment as a credit, says Lependorf.
National Fire's attorney, John Sawicki of Stevens & Schwab in Secaucus, did not return calls for comment.
- NEW JERSEY LAW JOURNAL, June 14, 2004
Residual Problems from C2 fracture only issue left for trial
| SETTLEMENT | $375,000 |
| CASE COURT JUDGE DATE |
Anthony Giordano v. Joseph Barresi, No. MRS-L-1036-01 Morris County Superior Court, NJ W. Hunt Dumont 7/21/2003 |
| PLAINTIFF ATTORNEY(S) | Gabriel R. Lependorf, Lependorf & Silverstein, Princeton, NJ |
| DEFENSE ATTORNEY(S) | Joseph E. Kelley, Maloof, Lebowitz, Connahan & Oleske, Chatham, NJ |
FACTS AND ALLEGATIONS On Aug. 29, 1999, at approximately 9:30
p.m., a plaintiff Anthony Giordano, a 66-year-old retired vice president for
Chase Manhattan bank, was driving his 1997 Honda Prelude west on Sunset Road
in Pequannock Township in Morris County. Joseph Barresi was driving his 1996
GMC Jimmy 4X4 north on West Parkway. Barresi came to a stop sign at the corner
of West and Sunset and allegedly ran it, striking Giordano on the driver's side.
Giordano sued Barresi for negligence.
Barresi did not contest liability.
INJURIES/DAMAGES depression; fracture; odontoid process
Giordano sustained a fracture of the C2 odontoid. He had a transverse process,
requiring two months in a hard collar and two more months in a soft collar.
He spent eight days at Morristown Memorial Hospital and 16 days at the Kessler
Institute for Rehabilitation. His medicals were in excess of $70,000, but were
all covered by the no-fault carrier. There was no lost-wage claim.
He claimed significant residual problems from the fracture and depression.
Barresi claimed that the fracture healed well with only minor residual problems
and disputed Giordano's alleged depression.
| RESULT | The parties settled for $375,000 |
| INSURER(S) | State Farm for Barresi |
| EXPERT(S) | None reported |
EDITOR'S NOTE Defense attorney Joseph Kelley was out of the office for personal reasons and did not contribute to this report.
- New Jersey Reporter-Alison Love
$370,000 for Injuries in Car Accident
| VERDICT | $370,000 |
| CASE | Malhotra v. Paula Massberg, No. L-264-05 |
| COURT | Mercer County Superior Court, NJ |
| JUDGE | Mary C. Jacobson |
| DATE | 7/25/2007 |
| PLAINTIFF ATTORNEY(S) | Gabriel R. Lependorf, Lependorf & Silverstein, P.C., Princeton, NJ |
| DEFENSE ATTORNEY(S) | Keith Bursack, Law Office of Doreen Ryan, Wall, NJ |
Facts & Allegations On Dec. 23, 2003, at approximately noon, plaintiff Vivek Malhotra, a software engineer, 48, was driving a sedan in the left hand lane on Route One South in West Windsor Township. Near the road's intersection with Harrison Street, a vehicle being driven by Paula Massberg came from plaintiff's right, pulled in front of his lane of travel and came to a stop. Malhotra could not stop in time and a collision occurred.
Malhotra sued Massberg, alleging negligence.
Defendant stipulated to liability, but disputed the nature, causation and extent of the claimed injuries. This case was a no-threshold, or zero threshold, matter.
Injuries/Damages Malhotra sustained a neck strain that nearly fully healed. He also suffered from a left (non-dominant) thumb basal joint injury that was treated with two steroid injections and only gives plaintiff pain with increased activity. The plaintiff also suffered left foot neuropathic paresthesia that began to give him trouble approximately four months after the accident but continues to cause a near constant electrical feel in his inner left foot and heal. No treatment has been rendered for this problem. The plaintiff's expert opined that Malhotra's injuries healed except thumb may continue to give him ongoing pain.
The defense argued that the injuries were preexisting or degenerative based on MRI film. The defense expert opined that the neck and thumb problems resolved. The expert admitted that the foot condition was related to the accident but opined that he suffered no pain or disability from the condition.
Result The jury found that the plaintiff sustained injuries arising from the accident. Malhotra was awarded $370,000.
| RESULT | $370,000 |
| DEMAND | $40,000 |
| OFFER | $25,000 |
| INSURER(S) | Allstate |
| Trial Details | Trial Length: 2 Days Jury Deliberations: 1.5 Hours Jury Poll: 6-0 Jury Composition: 1 male, 5 female |
| EXPERT(S) | Plaintiff: Richard Chang, M.D., orthopedics, Bridgewater,
NJ (Gabriel R. Lependorf) (treating) Defense: Thomas K. Bills, M.D., orthopedics, Lawrenceville, NJ (Keith Bursack) |
- Written By Ivan Alexander
Additional Verdicts and Settlements
Logan v. Porter - On August 30, 2005 Robert Logan accepted a settlement of $400,000.00 for injuries that he sustained in an automobile accident on July 9, 2002. Mr. Logan sustained soft tissue injuries to his neck and back and alleged a closed head injury. Although Mr. Logan lost no time from his employment at Princeton University, he complained of memory deficits and post-traumatic headaches. His attorney, Gabriel R. Lependorf, was successful in proving that although he lost no time from work, his quality of life was impacted due to his injuries.
Dog Bite Victim - $167,100.00 (name witheld as plaintiff a minor). On August 2, 2005 the parents of a four year old girl accepted a settlement that will result in a total payout of $167,100.00. The settlement was approved by a Mercer County Superior Court Judge. The minor was injured when a friend's dog bit her upper lip, resulting in a two centimeter scar that was stitched under local anasthesia. Attorney David E. Silverstein was successful in using demonstrative evidence to obtain this excellent result without the need of putting the minor through diffucult adversarial court proceedings.
Bridgen v Ablett - On August 23, 2005 John Bridgen accepted a settlement of $200,000.00 for injuries he sustained while bicycling in Franklin Township, New Jersey on October 12, 2003. Mr. Bridgen sustained a fractured orbital bone, a fractured clavicle and a fracture to his left thumb when his bicycle was struck by an automobile operated by the defendant.
Call Lependorf & Silverstein today for a free consultation.
