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

Sideswipe on I-287 Mediation Settlement, Result $550,000

A sideswipe accident on Route 287 South in Mahwah, New Jersey, severely injured a New Jersey driver. After Davis, Saperstein & Salomon, P.C. partners Garry R. Salomon and Adam B. Lederman proved that the truck driver had been negligent in performing an unsafe lane change, our client was awarded a $550,000 settlement.

The client was driving along the right lane of Route 287 South in Mahwah, New Jersey, when he heard a deafening roar. He glanced to his left to witness his side-view mirror flying from his car. His window shattered split-seconds later, as the semi-truck driver had begun pushing our client onto the shoulder of the highway. The tractor-trailer driver pulled away after realizing that he had hit another vehicle.

The man suffered aggravations of pre-existing injuries, including injuries in his right and left wrists, his right knee, and his left ankle. Both of his wrists suffered complete full thickness tears of the scapholunate ligament complex. His right knee suffered a meniscal tear, and his right leg also developed patellar and quadriceps tendonitis. His left ankle was diagnosed with post-traumatic impingement, a peroneal tendinopathy with a split tear of the peroneus longus, and extensive damage to the peroneus brevis.

To treat the tear in his right wrist, the man received two cortisone injections and underwent an RASL procedure. He received another two cortisone injections to treat his left wrist. For his right knee, he underwent a surgical arthroscopy partial medial and lateral meniscectomy and resection of the plica, while the two forms of tendonitis required an arthroscopic debridement of internal adhesions and quadriceps repair. His ankle required lateral ligament reconstruction. Our client spent months in physical therapy recovering from his various surgeries, and underwent twenty-four sessions of acupuncture and trigger point therapy to treat his left ankle and right knee pain.

Once an avid and talented golfer, he can no longer play due to his left foot injury. His left foot pain also prevents him from biking, hiking, fishing, and skiing, nor can he assist his wife with household chores.

Insurance companies often try to defend cases by stating that a client had a prior injury or condition. If a client was asymptomatic before the accident, an experienced lawyer will prove that and ask the Judge to tell the jury not to consider prior conditions. The lawyer will then go on to win a verdict or settlement.

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

Full-thickness complete tear: A tear in which a tendon is completely detached from the bone.

Scapholunate ligament complex: U-shaped ligamentous complex positioned in the middle of the wrist.

Meniscal tear: A tear in the cartilage of the knee; commonly occurs if an individual suddenly and forcefully twists their knee.

Patellar tendonitis: An injury to the patellar tendon, the tendon that connects the kneecap to the tibia.

Quadriceps tendonitis: Inflammation or degeneration of the quadriceps tendon at the top of the patella.

Posttraumatic ankle impingement: Pain caused by pressure on one of the tendons or joints in the ankle.

Peroneal tendinopathy: Inflammation or degeneration of the peroneal tendons, causing pain in the ankle.

Peroneus brevis: A short muscle that lies in the lower leg, near the ankle.

RASL procedure: The reduction-association scapholunate procedure, that aims to stabilize the scapholunate joint.

Partial meniscectomy: A surgical procedure that removes the damaged part of the meniscus.

Plica resection: Arthroscopic knee surgery that removes abnormal synovial tissue.

Debridement of internal adhesion: A procedure to remove dead tissue from a healing surgery.