$______ VERDICT - MOTOR VEHICLE NEGLIGENCE - REAR END COLLISION - AGGRAVATION OF PREVIOUSLY ASYMPTOMATIC ANKLE ARTHRITIS - ANKLE REPLACEMENT - CRPS IN LEG - TEAR OF DOMINANT SHOULDER DIAGNOSED 3 MONTHS LATER - SEVERE PAIN AND REDUCED MOBILITY IN ARM DESPITE 3 SURGERIES - INABILITY TO CONTINUED ACTIVE LIFESTYLE.

• Pages: 2-3

Summaries with Trial Analysis

$13,500,000 VERDICT – MOTOR VEHICLE NEGLIGENCE – REAR END COLLISION –

AGGRAVATION OF PREVIOUSLY ASYMPTOMATIC ANKLE ARTHRITIS – ANKLE

REPLACEMENT – CRPS IN LEG – TEAR OF DOMINANT SHOULDER DIAGNOSED 3

MONTHS LATER – SEVERE PAIN AND REDUCED MOBILITY IN ARM DESPITE 3

SURGERIES – INABILITY TO CONTINUED ACTIVE LIFESTYLE.

Orange County, NY

Liability was stipulated in this motor vehicle

negligence case. The 55-year-old plaintiff driver

contended that she suffered a severe aggravation

of a previously asymptomatic ankle arthritis which

required an ankle replacement and culminated in

Complex Regional Pain Syndrome which will

permanently cause extensive pain as well as color

and temperature change despite the surgical

implantation of a neurostimulator. The plaintiff

also contended that she suffered a slap tear to the

right, dominant shoulder that necessitated several

surgeries and which will nonetheless cause severe

pain and limitations permanently. The plaintiff

maintained that the defendant, who was driving

anSUV,inthecourseofhisworkforworkingfor

a company that provided alarm systems, was

distracted and struck her car at approximately 40

mph as she was stopped. The evidence reflected

that although the plaintiff’s vehicle did not suffer

extensive property damage, the defendant’s did.

The defendant denied that the plaintiff’s claims of

suffering a shoulder tear in the accident should be

accepted, pointing out that the shoulder diagnosis

was not made for approximately 3 months.

The plaintiff visited the hospital the day of the acci-

dent and was discharged upon a diagnosis of ankle

sprain. The plaintiff also maintained that she made

complaints of neck and shoulder pain and that the

physicians believed that she had only signs of either a

cervical herniation or whiplash. The plaintiff asserted

that after a herniation was ruled out, her physicians

diagnosed a slap tear of the dominant shoulder. The

plaintiff contended that despite some 3 surgical inter-

ventions to the shoulder, she will suffer pervasive pain

and limitations permanently.

The plaintiff further testified that she was previously

asymptomatic in the ankle and did not previously

know that she had ankle arthritis. The plaintiff main-

tained that when her condition continued to worsen,

the physicians realized that a much more serious

condition that originally thought was present. The

plaintiff was then diagnosed with aggravation of ar-

thritis and when her pain and restriction continued to

heighten, she underwent an ankle replacement.

The plaintiff asserted that after the surgery, she devel-

oped excruciating pain as well as color and temper-

ature changes. CRPS was diagnosed and the plaintiff

underwent the surgical implantation of

neurostimulator. The device enables the plaintiff to at-

tempt to modulate the symptoms by adjusting the

settings via a digital handheld device and the plain-

tiff related that she does so many times per day with

limited relief.

The plaintiff maintained that prior to the accident, she

was an active individual, having enjoyed endeavors

such as hiking and that she has been forced to lead

a much more sedentary lifestyle. The plaintiff pre-

sented several friends and former co-workers who dis-

cussed the manner in which the plaintiff was

previously very active. The plaintiff argued that the

jury should consider that the plaintiff has been de-

prived of the ability to engage in activities otherwise

taken for granted, her injuries contributed to her walk-

ing with a painful limp and she was deprived of her

past unlimited mobility and that such difficulties will

continue for the remainder of a life expectancy of

more than 28-years. The plaintiff had been a waitress

and contended that she is permanently unable to

work. The plaintiff did not make a claim for lost

wages.

The jury awarded $2,000,000 for past medical ex-

penses; $3,000,000 for future medical expenses over

28.2 years; $3,500,000 for past pain and suffering;

and $4,500,000 for future pain and suffering over

28.2 years, for a total award of $13,000,000.They also

awarded $500,000 to the husband, including

$300,000 for past loss of consortium and $500,000 for

future loss of consortium. The defendant had

$2,000,000 in primary coverage and a $25,000,000

umbrella.

REFERENCE

Plaintiff’s orthopedic surgeon expert: Richard

Saunders, M.D. from Queensbury, NY. Plaintiff’s pain

management expert: Stuart B. Kahn, M.D. from New

York, NY.

Noller vs. Holt and Red Hawk Fire & Security (NY), LLC.

Index no. 5347/14; Judge Sandra Sciortino, 10-08-21.

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Volume 39, Issue 1, January 2022

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