June 16, 2008
A 55 year old woman from Irvington, New Jersey agreed to a settlement totaling $390,000. The settlement accident occurred when a motor vehicle being driven by the plaintiff, proceeding southbound on High Street at Park Avenue, with a green light, at a speed just below the limit of 25 mph, was struck in the front passenger side by a motor vehicle driven by the defendant. The defendant admitted to the police that he struck the motor vehicle when he attempted to make a left turn onto Park Avenue at High Street. The high impact collision was caused by the defendant's sudden left hand turn traveling northbound on High Street onto westbound Park Avenue, without signaling, just as the plaintiff's vehicle proceeded through the intersection.
As a result of the accident, the plaintiff sustained numerous orthopedic injuries including a comminuted tibial-plateau fracture involving the articular surface of the right knee, which required open reduction and internal fixation on an emergent basis at East Orange General Hospital. Subsequently, she had another surgery almost two years later to remove the retained hardware in the right knee. In addition, her left knee sustained tears of the medial and lateral menisci and a partial tear of the ACL requiring arthroscopic surgery. She also had a herniated disc at L4-5 and a bulging disc at L5-S1, with radiculopathy, confirmed by positive EMG, and numerous other contusions and lacerations. Her back pain also required two epidural injections. The case was settled just before trial which had been scheduled in the Essex County Superior Court on June 16, 2008 prior to being assigned for trial.
