Rear-End Car Accident Case in NY
Past Cases & Results
AUTOMOBILE REAR-END • CASE #2
DATE OF OCCURRENCE: 6/22/1995
CLIENT: A.S. (44 year-old female)
DESCRIPTION OF OCCURRENCE: Our client, A.S., was a passenger in a car stopped at a red light. The car was rear-ended by a van, whose driver claimed his brakes failed.
INJURIES: Herniated disc C 5 -C 6 , herniated disc L 3 -L 4 , posterior disc bulge L 4 -L 5 , disc herniation L 5 -S 1 causing thecal sac impingement, cervical and lumbar radiculopathy; left shoulder: hypertrophic acromioclavicular joint with spur formation causing impingement; TMJ (temporomandibular joint syndrome): jaw “click” and jaw pain.
Left shoulder surgery was recommended but A.S. declined to undergo surgery.
Out of work – client never returned to work (we helped A.S. recover $12,700 for her lost wages from No-Fault insurance). A.S. was a sewing machine operator. We referred her to one of our affiliated attorneys and she successfully obtained an award of lifetime Social Security Disability benefits (in April, 1997).
We retained a vocational expert who found that A.S. was unable to perform any Sedentary, Light, Medium, Heavy or Very Heavy work existing in the local or national economy on a sustained full-time, regular, competitive basis; that she was unemployable.
We retained an economist who valued A.S.’s past economic loss at $46,912 and future economic loss at $459,699.
RESULT: Settlement for $345,000 (February, 2000).
OF PARTICULAR INTEREST HERE:
1. We turned down settlement offers of $7,500 (March, 1996), $185,000 (mediation in August, 1999) and $230,000 (August , 1999).
2. A lawsuit was commenced in Queens County Supreme Court. In an aggressive move, in October, 1997, we obtained summary judgment for A.S. Summary judgment was a determination on paper, by a judge – without necessity of a trial – that the defendants (truck owner and truck driver) were 100% at fault for this accident. The only remaining issue would then be the amount of damages. This gave our client, A.S., a huge advantage.
3. This client had much testing and treatment with on-going complaints of pain, but no broken bones or surgery. We referred her to various medical experts who examined her and interpreted her medical test results and helped us build up her case. We achieved a great result for A.S. for what were, essentially, “soft-tissue” injuries.
ATTACHED: Three photos depicting the
property damage to the rear of the car in which A.S. was a passenger.
Gary E. Rosenberg, P.C.
61-43 186th Street, Suite 524
Fresh Meadows, NY 11365
(718) 520-8787
Serving: New York City, including the Boroughs of Queens, Manhattan, Staten Island, and Bronx, and the Counties of Kings, Richmond, Queens, New York, Bronx, Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, Rockland and Dutchess.