Bronx Auto Accident Case Settled
Jul 13, 2015OUTCOME: Settlement Paid to Our Client
Martin Colin, P.C. announced the settlement of a Bronx car accident lawsuit which had been vigorously fought by the insurance company since it was initially filed two years ago. Our client, the injured ... plaintiff, who is a resident of the Bronx, New York, was driving his car westbound on the Southern State Parkway in Nassau County on a summer day in 2013. Our client observed slow moving traffic ahead on the Southern State Parkway and reduced his speed accordingly. However, another driver traveling westbound behind the plaintiff’s vehicle did not slow down in time and ended up rear ending our client’s vehicle. After the accident, the injured plaintiff declined an ambulance to the nearest hospital, and instead drove himself to his preferred medical center, Lawrence Hospital, in Bronxville, New York, where he was examined and treated. During this visit, the physically injured driver complained of severe neck pain and radiating back pain. Health care professionals at the hospital did a CT scan of the lumbrosacral spine, which indicted that there were several disc bulges at L-2 to L-5 with impingement of nerve roots. This objective test result was consisted with the client’s claim of back injury with radiating pain. Afterward, our client received medical treatment from different physicians for treatment of his neck pain and back pain. He was prescribed pain medication and physical therapy, and was also instructed to undergo an MRI. Since the accident, the injured driver continued to receive medical treatment and attended physical therapy sessions. However despite all the therapy, he continued to have severe back pain, and was classified as having a permanent partial disability. Due to the fact that physical therapy has not alleviated his symptoms, a treating physician requested that the driver injured in the car crash continue with his home exercises and follow up with further medical treatment. The case was vigorously defended by a team of Manhattan lawyers who contended that: 1) our client was not injured at all; 2) even if he was feeling pain, it was not caused by the car accident; 3) even if he was injured, it was so minor it was not worth a lawsuit; and 4) any damage to his lower back, as shown on the MRI, resulted from his physical activity as a handyman and not as a result of the car accident on the Southern State Parkway. However, during sworn questioning prior to trial, our attorneys discovered that the driver of the offending vehicle had just purchased the vehicle the day before, and was driving the car for the first time. Moreover, we pointed to the several thousand dollars of vehicle damage as evidence that the car accident involved a significant impact, capable of causing substantial physical injury to the occupant inside the vehicle stopped in traffic. Prior to trial, the insurance company lawyers filed a motion in court to dismiss our case, in its entirety, claiming that there was insufficient evidence that our client sustained the minimum injury necessary for an auto accident lawsuit. But the insurance company also agreed to attempt settlement of the case through a mediator. Our attorneys prepared a detailed summary for the mediator, demonstrating both the strength of our case as well as a the extent of the physical injuries. After a lengthy mediation session, in which the injured client himself also participated, we eventually obtained a favorable settlement for our client.
