$2,550,000 Awarded to Victims of Trucking Accidents

The four female plaintiffs in this case were represented by Block O’Toole & Murphy. The case settled just prior to trial for a total of $2,550,000. The breakdown was $2,500,000 out of a total of $3,000,000 in insurance coverage from the tractor trailer company and $50,000, the entire policy, from the intoxicated driver of the host vehicle.

The case was handled by Daniel P. O’Toole and Fred Aranki.

This litigation arises out of a motor vehicle accident which occurred on May 13, 2006, on Interstate 495, westbound Helix in
Weehawken, New Jersey. The four (4) Plaintiffs were all passengers in the vehicle being operated by Defendant Granit Boshnjakaj, who pled guilty to DWI and reckless driving subsequent to the accident. The accident occurred between Defendant Granit Boshnjakaj and the flat-bed truck being operated by Defendant Lawrence Lambert who was in the course of his employment with Ho-Ro Trucking Co., Inc. The Port Authority Police Department of New York and New Jersey conducted an extensive investigation and concluded that the Boshnjakaj vehicle’s excessive speed and Mr. Boshnjakaj’s intoxication were the causes of the collision.

There was also a major choice of law issue regarding the divergent joint and several liability laws of New York and New Jersey. If New Jersey law were found to apply, the Plaintiffs would have had to prove the Lambert/Ho-Ro vehicle was over 50% liable for the accident to obtain any significant recovery as opposed to the law in New York wherein the Plaintiffs would have had only had to prove the Lambert/Ho-Ro vehicle 1% liable.

The Plaintiffs suffered the following injuries:

Venera Latifi
– Laceration of the right forehead into the scalp resulting in permanent scarring;
– Maxillary sinus fractures;
– Multiple cranium fractures;
– Fractures of orbital cavity and orbital wall;
– Nasal bone fracture;
– Fracture to the left wrist requiring open reduction internal fixation and postoperative use of external fixation device with scarring;
– Bilateral fractures of the hips.

Vatra Shaqiri
– Laceration of skull with numerous staples requiring three surgeries and resulting in permanent scarring;
– Complex fracture of left humerus requiring open reduction internal fixation.

Laura Ahmetaj
– Posterior disc bulges at C5-C6 and C6-C7.

Arelta Dalipi
– Left hand laceration with foreign bodies in the left hand, requiring surgical intervention and resulting in permanent scarring to outside of left hand.