On August 6, 2013, a 43 year old woman was stopped in traffic on the Pulaski Skyway in Kearny, NJ, when she was violently struck in the rear bumper by a company van. The impact pushed her vehicle into ...the car directly in front and caused two other vehicles to collide.
After minutes of unconsciousness, the woman awoke and found her airbags deployed. She was unable to exit the vehicle and had to be extricated. She was immediately taken to Jersey City Medical Center with serious injuries. Doctors found the woman suffering from a concussion, tears to both knees, broken ribs, and herniated discs, among other injuries. She underwent multiple surgeries including a laminectomy for her lower back injuries, knee surgery, and a cervical fusion. Once an active exerciser, running up to nine and a half miles a day, she could no longer run or walk for long periods of time, and developed insomnia. In addition, she was unable to work due to the accident.
The plaintiff and her husband filed suit against the driver of the commercial vehicle, as well as the owner of the company. The case was filed in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Hudson County and was recently resolved during trial for $910,000.00. The Plaintiff was represented by Evan D. Baker of Davis, Saperstein & Salomon, P.C
Personal injury
D. M. and R. M., husband and wife v. State of New Jersey, New Jersey Transit Corporation, New Jersey Transit
May 25, 2010
OUTCOME: Jury Verdict $760,000
On July 28, 2006, at approximately 11:30 p.m., plaintiff D.M., 38, employee of a Manhattan financial firm, was a passenger on a New Jersey PATH train that was traveling from close to her workplace to E...xchange Place in Jersey City. She was admittedly very intoxicated, having gone out for drinks after work, and asked several uniformed New Jersey Transit Police officers for assistance as to how to get to her parked car at Liberty State Park.
The officers, including Gabriel Mantilla, a former Hudson County sheriff's officer and a NJ Transit cop for over six years, and Lennard Ryner, a NJ Transit cop for over two years, told D.M. to take the Light Rail to the park and they would meet her there. The parties met up at the park, where D.M. said she intended to sleep in her cars before driving to her home in Old Bridge, but the officers said she couldn't sleep there. Mantilla and Ryner instead convinced D.M. to drive home by following their vehicle, assuring her that they would not charge her with drunk-driving. D.M. then followed the officers to a remote weeded area beneath a New Jersey Turnpike overpass, where she allegedly had sexual intercourse with both officers.
On her way home, D.M. told a Turnpike toll collector that she had been raped by two NJ Transit police officers. During a subsequent examination at the Jersey City Medical Center, Mantilla's DNA was recovered from D.M. A resulting criminal prosecution led to pleas of official misconduct, for which both officers received prison sentences.
D.M. sued Mantilla and Ryner for sexual assault. She also sued a third officer who was present when she was advised to use Light Rail, alleging conspiracy, but that claim was dismissed before trial. D.M. also joined New Jersey Transit, alleging negligent hiring, retaining and supervision, since the officers were acting in the scope of their duties as police officers for that organization when she sought their assistance on account of her intoxicated state.
Plaintiff's counsel argued that, upon arriving at the Turnpike overpass, the officers compelled D.M. to have sex with them by threatening to arrest her for drunk-driving if she did not. The officers used rubber gloves as condoms, said counsel.
The two officers admitted to having sexual intercourse with plaintiff but maintained that it was entirely consensual.
Counsel for the plaintiff (and the prosecutor in the criminal prosecution) countered that, given D.M.'s state of intoxication, she lacked the capacity to consent to sexual conduct and the officers were required by law to protect her rather than victimize her.
Car accident
C.F. vs. J.O.
Jan 01, 2010
OUTCOME: The jury found the defendant 90% negligent, the plaintiff 10% comparatively negligent and the gross awards of $300,000 to the plaintiff and $10,000 to her husband
The plaintiff pedestrian in her late 50s contended that the defendant driver, who was turning left and across three lanes into a condo parking lot where he worked, negligently failed to make adequate o...bservations, striking the plaintiff on the sidewalk as the defendant was entering the driveway of the building. The defendant did not see the plaintiff until he struck her. The defendant maintained that the plaintiff failed to make observations and was comparatively negligent. The plaintiff indicated that she did not see the defendant before impact. The plaintiff contended that she sustained a comminuted fracture of the tibial plateau. The plaintiff related that she was afraid of the risks of surgery that was recommended by two physicians, and that the injury was treated by way of a lock brace and physical therapy. The plaintiff maintained that she will suffer permanent pain and some difficulties ambulating and will need future surgery. The defendant contended that the plaintiff made a good recovery. The defendant further maintained that the recovery would have been better if the plaintiff had undergone the recommended surgery. The court instructed the jury, over plaintiff's objections, that they could consider the defendant's arguments on mitigation of damages.
The plaintiff made no income claims. The jury was also advised that in the interim between the accident and trial, the defendant had suffered a stroke, accounting for difficulties in walking and some slight speech deficits, and that he was not in this condition when driving on the day of the accident.
Car accident
I.M. vs. S.B.
Feb 02, 2007
OUTCOME: The jury found that the defendant was negligent and apportioned Burke's liability at 70% and the plaintiff's at 30%. The jury further found that the plaintiff sustained a permanent injury and awarded him $120,000
On June 21, 2004, plaintiff I.M., 34, a proprietor of a bagel store, was driving an SUV westbound on Route 80 in Hackensack. He turned off onto the exit ramp to Polifly Road. The intersection formed by... the ramp was a T-intersection. The traffic lights were under construction. As I.M. entered the intersection to make a left hand turn, his vehicle collided with a sedan driven by S.B..
Claiming injuries, I.M. sued S.B. alleging negligence. The plaintiff claimed that he had the right-of-way to enter the intersection as he had the green light.
The defense denied liability, and claimed that neither set of traffic lights was operational, and that the plaintiff failed to keep proper lookout for other vehicles under these circumstances when entering the intersection to turn left.
The plaintiff contended that the original lights were operational and the new lights were in the process of being installed and were covered with bags. The plaintiff called as witness a police officer who testified that one set of lights were operational when he drove through the area about 15 minutes prior to the accident, and that they were operational in all directions when he arrived at the accident scene.
The defense contended that the plaintiff's alleged injuries did not meet the requirements of New Jersey's verbal threshold statute. The defense pointed that the plaintiff's absence of initial treatment indicated at most a minor non-permanent injury. The defense contended that the plaintiff's complaints stemmed from a problem that was degenerative in nature, based on MRI records.
