$550,000 Recovery

Kenneth J. Halperin recently obtained a $550,000 settlement for a woman whose car was struck by a tractor-trailer. Plaintiff was stopped for a light on a three lane roadway in Queens. When the light changed to green, but before her vehicle moved, a tractor trailer in the lane to her right began making a right hand turn and the rear portion of the trailer smashed into the passenger side door of plaintiff's car shattering the glass and shaking her car.

The defendant in an affidavit claimed that the plaintiff's vehicle was moving and that she was responsible for the accident. However, during the course of discovery we succeeded in getting the driver precluded from testifying at trial because he failed to appear for his deposition on two occasions. This enabled us to obtain summary judgment on the issue of liability because the plaintiff's testimony about the accident was unopposed.

As a result of the accident, our client sustained a herniated cervical disc. She underwent an operation where an artificial disc was implanted into the disc space where the disc had herniated. At a mediation conference we settled the case for $550,000.

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