$1,750,000 for a Mother Who Was Severely Injured as a Passenger in a Dump Truck Accident

While seated as a passenger in a parked car, our client, a mother and community leader, was injured when a dump truck drove into the driver’s side of the car. The impact caused her to suffer serious permanent injuries to her neck, back, and knee that required two surgeries. Her injuries hindered her from engaging in her role as a community leader and role model for local children in her role as an after-school coordinator. Represented by our attorneys, Stephen Murphy and Aaron Fishkin, she received a $1.75 million settlement.

Court and County

Supreme Court, Queens County

Plaintiff Description

Our client was a 31-year-old mother and after-school coordinator on the date of the accident.

Description of Case

Our client was sitting in a parked car on Liberty Avenue in Queens, which was protruding out of a parking space and positioned in front of Defendant’s vehicle. When the traffic light transitioned from a red to green light, the Defendant moved his recycling dump truck forward and struck the vehicle that our client was a front seat passenger.

Our client was seated with her safety belt on at the time of the accident. It was our client’s position that the dump truck driver violated the Vehicle and Traffic Law by failing to exercise due care and yield the right of way. The Honda Civic our client was seated in was stopped and positioned in front of the dump truck at the time of the accident.

The recycling company that owned the dump truck argued that the car our client was in was not protruding into traffic when traffic was stopped at the red light and failed to yield the right of way when the traffic light changed to green. The Defendant’s position was that the driver of the car our client was seated in failed to yield the right of way because their vehicle was in a parked position and the dump truck was in a lane of travel.

Injuries/Damages

Our client did not receive medical attention on the day of the accident. On the day after the accident, our client visited her primary care physician with a complaint of pain in her knees, back, and neck. As a result of the accident, our client suffered serious and permanent injuries to her neck, back, and left knee, which will limit her future range of motion, sensation in our client’s extremities, and activity tolerance.

Our client’s lumbar and cervical spine became symptomatic in the days after the accident, and she participated in physical therapy and other conservative care. Our client was referred for diagnostic studies, including MRIs, which revealed a herniation in our client’s back and neck at the L5-S1 and C4-5 segments. A devoted mother and community leader, these injuries changed her life and even impacted the community; the children at the after-school program where she was employed were deprived of her care and leadership. She could no longer be a flag football coach or ride bikes with her son.

Months after the accident, after conservative treatment failed to mitigate our client’s neck pain, she underwent neck surgery, which included an anterior cervical discectomy at C4-5. Additionally, she suffered pain in her left knee. When physical therapy and other conservative treatment did not alleviate her left knee pain, she underwent another surgery, a left knee arthroscopy.

Our client made claims for past and future medical expenses, as well as past and future pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of life.

Settlement Amount

The parties negotiated a $1,750,000 pretrial settlement.

Handling Attorneys

This matter was handled by firm attorneys Stephen J. Murphy and Aaron R. Fishkin.