The Perecman Firm, secured a $5,461,000 jury verdict for a woman who sustained serious injuries when she was involved in a collision with a truck.
The Perecman Firm, represented a client who sustained fracture, calcaneus, arthritis, pronounced limp, cuboid fracture, arthrodesis, and had to have hardware implanted after a serious collision with a truck.
On Sept. 8, 2003, our client, 40, a student, was driving on the northbound side of Wheeler Road, near its intersection at Storey Avenue, in West Islip. At the same time, the driver of an 18-wheel truck was traveling in the opposite direction on Wheeler Road. The truck driver struck a vehicle operated by a third party, causing that vehicle to cross the double yellow line and strike our client’s vehicle. The truck jackknifed and also struck our client’s vehicle.
Our client sued the truck driver and the owners of his vehicle, and was granted summary judgment on liability.
The plaintiff was removed from her vehicle by the Jaws of Life and transported via ambulance to South Side Hospital. She sustained a comminuted intra-articular fracture of the left calcaneus and fracture of the cuboid bone, both of which resulted in arthritis. She also underwent subtalar joint fusion. She now walks with a pronounced limp and requires a Lisfranc's crutch. At the time of the accident, she was studying to become an occupational therapist. However, as a result of her injuries she claimed she is unable to work.
The plaintiff's orthopedic surgeon testified that our client would require pain medication and at least two visits to the orthopedist a year for the rest of her life. He also claimed that she will need additional surgery to remove the hardware and will need a triple arthrodesis later in life. The jury was asked to award the plaintiff $8 million for pain and suffering, lost earnings and medical expenses.
The defense argued that the client was a malingerer and that she could find a job as a hand therapist or, in the alternative, a job as a data entry clerk. After four days of trial, the jury awarded a verdict of $5,461,000. The case settled after verdict for $3.5 million.