Failure of non-host driver to obey stop sign – Aggravation of degenerative disc disease treated a year previously with injections and which now required lumbar fusion.
Monmouth County, NJ – The plaintiff passenger, approximately 60, contended that the defendant non-host driver negligently failed to obey a stop sign. The defendant did not testify in discovery and the plaintiff obtained an order barring her trial testimony.
The host driver had a minimum policy with no liability coverage. The evidence disclosed that the plaintiff had previously symptomatic degenerative disc disease in the lumbar spine and had undergone injections in the last 1-2 year period. The plaintiff maintained that the collision caused an aggravation and that he required a lumbar fusion because of the aggravation.
The plaintiff’s orthopedic surgeon would have testified that the plaintiff will suffer very substantial symptoms permanently. The defendant would have maintained that the surgery would have been necessary even if the accident had not occurred and that plaintiff suffered no permanent injury from the accident. The plaintiff made no lost income claim. The defendant had $250,000 in coverage. The case settled prior to trial for $245,000.
REFERENCE
Beatty vs. Schwartz. Docket no. MON-L1137-17, 11-00-18. Attorneys for plaintiff : Randolph H. Wolf and Amanda F. Wolf ofWolf Law in Red Bank, NJ.
Plaintiff’s treating Orthopaedic Surgeon – Dr. Marc A. Cohen of Morristown, NJ