May 14, 2004
The family was traveling westbound in the center lane of Route 80 on June 26, 2002 at approximately 7 PM in Mount Olive, New Jersey. Suddenly, a large flatbed tow truck, which had been on the right shoulder of the westbound lanes with flashers activated, made an abrupt turn across all three lanes of Route 80, intending to make a u-turn through a cut in the divided highway to travel eastbound. In so doing, the tow truck completely blocked the path of the plaintiffs' vehicle, causing an explosive collision. The father, operating a Ford Explorer, managed to take evasive actions whereby his vehicle struck the tow truck at a point between its front cab and the flatbed of the vehicle, thus avoiding the potential of decapitation from the direct blow with the flatbed portion of the vehicle.
The front airbags in the plaintiffs' vehicle deployed, and the entire front end of the SUV was pushed into the right passenger compartment, causing severe injuries to the mother seated in that location. She sustained a concussion, numerous cuts and lacerations and severe orthopedic injuries. She was airlifted by emergency services to Morristown Memorial Hospital where she was hospitalized for approximately one week. On June 28, 2002 she had surgery on a fractured wall of the right cheekbone with exploration of the orbit, bilateral nasal bone fractures, and debridement/repair of a 10 cm. laceration of the left. On June 30, 2002, a right knee arthrotomy, that is, an open repair of a torn lateral meniscus and an open reduction/internal fixation of the right lateral tibial plateau fracture was performed. Thus, the mother was left with severe scarring of both knees. She remained bedridden, with a knee immobilizer and a constant passive motion (CPM) unit, designed to provide for therapy to her damaged right knee, for several months. Thereafter, she required a walker and crutches, and eventually reached a point of being 25% weight-bearing by the fall of 2002. At that time she returned to her employment. She settled her claim for $400,000.
The son, who was age 13 at the time of the accident, was a seatbelted rear passenger. He sustained a concussion and multiple contusions, as well as cuts to his face from flying glass, which required suturing. Although he had some orthopedic care, his primary injury was an aggravation of a pre-existing drifting of his eyes known as exotropia, resulting from the traumatic concussion. He had previously undergone surgery at age 4, and again, approximately eight months before the accident to realign his eyes and address the eye muscles. Due to his head injury, he developed a significant left exotropia as well as headaches. It was determined that his pre-existing strabismus had been aggravated and worsened by the trauma of the accident and would likely require future surgery. His claim was settled for $100,000.
The father, age 50, sustained numerous orthopedic injuries, including disc bulging at C5-6 and C6-7, a lumbar strain, and bilateral shoulder impingement syndrome for which surgery was recommended. He settled his claim for $125,000.
Amos Gern represented the entire family of plaintiffs.
