TAP TO CALL
A New Jersey State Trooper pulled over a speeding driver on Route 80, when he was suddenly rear-ended by a tractor-trailer truck driver. Davis, Saperstein & Salomon, P.C. Partner Samuel L. Davis proved that both the speeding driver and the truck driver were operating their vehicles negligently, and won our client, the trooper, a $1.072 million settlement.
The trooper began his shift on Route 80 in Denville Township, New Jersey, at 5 AM. At about 5:25 AM, the accident happened.
Interstate 80 has a speed limit of 65 miles per hour. The trooper spotted a Toyota Corolla speeding at 85 miles per hour. The state trooper pulled onto the highway and activated his camera, emergency flashing lights, and siren, and set hot pursuit after the Toyota. The Toyota went back and forth between the left, center, and right lanes before finally pulling onto the right shoulder. However, the driver didn’t leave enough space for the state trooper to pull in behind her, causing him to stop while partially in the right lane and partially on the shoulder.
While investigating further, an 18-wheeler rear-ended the trooper after he stopped between the lane and shoulder. It was later proven that the truck driver had more than enough time to change lanes and avoid hitting him. The collision caused the officer injuries to his back, neck, head, and legs, and he was taken by ambulance to Morristown Memorial Hospital in Morristown, New Jersey. His injured spine suffered stenosis and radiculopathy at the L5-S1 level. To treat his back, he underwent epidural steroid injections and an anterior lumbar interbody fusion. Our client went to physical therapy for several months but continued to struggle with back pain. He also suffered a mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) that caused him post-traumatic headaches and migraines.
Samuel L. Davis, a Founding Partner at Davis, Saperstein & Salomon, P.C. hired medical practitioners to serve as expert witnesses. They authored narratives and provided written and oral testimony that helped Davis prove the permanent nature of the client’s injuries. The firm also hired a vocational specialist to calculate the financial damages suffered by our client. The specialist determined that the client had suffered a loss in earning capacity of several hundred thousand dollars.
The firm also hired a commercial transportation specialist as an expert witness, who found that the truck driver showed a pattern of negligence. Under the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSR), motor carriers are required to keep logbooks of their worked hours and to perform pre-trip inspections of their vehicle. The expert discovered that the driver had not kept a log of his hours in the seven days leading up to the accident. She also learned that the truck had a defective braking mechanism. She opined that a competent driver would have found the defective brakes in his pre-trip inspection, so the driver should have known or would have known about the brakes. These two violations showed that the driver consistently did not follow common industry practices. The expert’s conclusion helped Samuel L. Davis prove the driver’s negligence.
Davis, Saperstein & Salomon, P.C. Partner Sam Davis sued the trucking company and Toyota driver in the Morris County Superior Court. He won our client a $1.072 million settlement as compensation for his injuries, pain, and suffering.
Settlements are often limited by the total available insurance coverage. Insurance company adjusters and their lawyers often defend cases by claiming that a client was negligent and could have avoided being injured by arguing comparative negligence on the part of an injured client; or that their pain and suffering was caused by pre-existing medical conditions or prior injuries. Despite those defenses, the Davis, Saperstein & Salomon, PC lawyers won their client’s injury claim. Each client’s case is unique. Results may differ because of different facts, circumstances, and available insurance coverage.
Call us now for a free and confidential case evaluation. We are also available 24/7 online at our website, www.dsslaw.com.
Medical Glossary
Anterior Lumbar Interbody Fusion: Surgery to permanently connect two or more vertebrae in the front of the lumbar spine, eliminating motion between them.
Epidural Steroid Injections: Epidural steroid injections are a minimally invasive procedure that can relieve neck, arm, back, and leg pain; delivers steroids via a needle. The steroid calms down the irritated nerve that is causing the pain and swelling. Relief from the injections typically lasts for three months or more.
Radiculopathy: Doctors use the term radiculopathy to specifically describe pain, and other symptoms like numbness, tingling, and weakness in your arms or legs that may be caused by an injury causing pressure on the nerve roots. The nerve roots are branches of the spinal cord that carry signals to the rest of the body at each level along the spine. This term comes from a combination of the Latin word “radix,” which means the roots of a tree, and the Latin word “pathos,” which means a disease. This disease may be caused by direct pressure from a herniated disc in the lumbar spine that causes irritation and inflammation of the nerve roots. Radiculopathy may create a pattern of pain and numbness that is felt in your arms or your legs in the area of skin supplied by the sensory fibers of the nerve root, and weakness in the muscles that are also supplied by the same nerve root. The number of roots that are involved can vary, from one to several, and it can also affect both sides of the body at the same time.
Stenosis: a narrowing or constriction of the diameter of a bodily passage or orifice esophageal stenosis
