Largest Reported NJ Personal Injury Settlement during the Court’s 2022-2023 term

Bicyclist Hit By Box Truck On Route 130—$1.0 Million Settlement

A bicyclist was riding his Schwinn Mountain bike on Route 130 in Cranbury, New Jersey, when he was hit by a box truck. Davis, Saperstein & Salomon, P.C. Partners Garry R. Salomon and Patricia Z. Boguslawski proved that the truck driver had been negligent in his failure to drive carefully, and secured our client a $1.0 million settlement, which was the policy limit of the defendant.

Our client was riding his bike along the shoulder of the highway, when the truck driver veered off the highway and hit him. He was taken by ambulance to the Capital Health Regional Medical Center in Trenton, New Jersey. Our client suffered severe injuries, including a traumatic brain injury, which involved a right subdural hematoma, and in his leg, he had an open tibial fracture. For his head, he underwent evacuation of the subdural hematoma and a decompressive hemicraniectomy and for his leg, a surgical procedure called an open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF) of the tibia.

The firm hired medical experts to author narrative reports that proving the permanent nature of our client’s injuries. Their reports served as evidence that our client was entitled to compensation for his loss in income, his medical bills, and his pain and suffering. With the help of the experts, Davis, Saperstein & Salomon, P.C. Partners Garry R. Salomon and Patricia Z. Boguslawski sued the truck company in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Middlesex County. Sadly, our client passed away after ten months in inpatient hospice care.

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

Decompressive Hemicraniectomy: Decompressive hemicraniectomy is a surgery done to treat severe traumatic brain injuries. During the surgery, a part of the skull is taken out to allow the brain to swell without being compressed by the skull. This surgery is usually for traumatic brain injuries caused by a blow to the head, but it can also lessen swelling caused by a stroke.

Open Reduction Internal Fixation: A surgery used to treat severe fractures. A surgeon creates an incision to re-align the bone, and fixates the bone together with hardware.

Subdural Hematoma: Subdural hematoma is a type of bleeding inside the brain. The brain has three membranes—one is called the dura mater membrane layer. If you have a subdural hematoma, a blood vessel inside of your brain has torn, and blood is leaking out of the torn vessel and into the space below the dura mater. This space below the dura mater is called the subdural. Bleeding into the subdural is called a subdural hemorrhage.

Tibia: Also known as the shinbone, the tibia is the bigger of the two bones in the lower leg. The top of the tibia is connected to the knee joint while the bottom connects to the ankle joint.