$1,750,000 Settlement for Couple Rear-Ended by Garbage Truck

A driver and his wife were stopped at a red light in Manhattan when they were suddenly rear-ended by a New York City sanitation truck. The truck driver claimed that his foot slipped off the brake, causing the garbage truck to hit their car. As a result of the crash, the couple sustained herniated discs and ultimately underwent surgery. Represented by Block O’Toole & Murphy, they recovered $1.75 million.

Plaintiffs
The plaintiff driver was 35 years old on the date of accident and was employed as a Security Enforcement Agent for the NYC Dept. of Sanitation. The plaintiff passenger was 28 years old on the date of the accident and was not employed.

Description of the Case
This matter stems from an auto accident which occurred at the intersection of Madison Street and James Street in New York, New York. Plaintiffs, husband and wife, were stopped at a red light on Madison Street where it intersects with James Street when suddenly and without warning, they were rear-ended by defendant, a New York City sanitation truck. Defendant driver claims that he was stopped behind plaintiff at the red light on Madison Street when his foot slipped off the brake causing the truck to hit plaintiff’s car in the rear.

Injuries
The couple both suffered neck injuries after the crash. Plaintiff driver sustained a cervical herniation to the C3-C4 disc level requiring an anterior cervical discectomy and fusion at that level, while plaintiff passenger sustained a herniated disc at C5-C6, which also required an anterior cervical discectomy and fusion.

The Defendants argued that there was a large gap in time before either plaintiff sought medical treatment for the claimed areas of injury and the disc herniations claimed for both plaintiffs were pre-existing and not caused by the subject accident. Further, defendants claim that plaintiffs had an excellent result from their surgeries and require no additional treatment.

Settlement Amount
The case settled for $1,750,000.

If you were injured in a crash involving a truck or other large vehicle, it’s important to understand your legal rights after a serious accident. The truck accident attorneys at Block O’Toole & Murphy have litigated numerous auto accident cases, including those involving garbage truck accidents. For a free consultation with an experienced lawyer, please call 212-736-5300.

Attorneys
This case was handled by Partners Stephen J. Murphy, Esq. and Michael J. Hurwitz, Esq.

Truck Accident Injuries – Filing a Lawsuit

The attorneys at Block O’Toole & Murphy will fight for every dollar that our clients are legally entitled to. To date, we recovered over $1.5 billion for our clients, including record-breaking $110 million and $32 million jury verdicts.

Select results for clients rear-ended by large trucks include:

• $3,500,000 settlement for a bus operator who suffered neck, back and shoulder injuries after he was rear-ended by a sanitation truck
• $2,625,000 settlement in a tragic case for the children of an upstate New York couple who passed away after they were violently struck in the rear by a tractor trailer
• $2,270,000 verdict for a woman who suffered injuries to her spine and knees after a rear-end accident with a tanker truck

Learn what you can do after a serious collision by contacting the lawyers at Block O’Toole & Murphy today. Simply call 212-736-5300 or fill out our contact form.