$______ VERDICT - MOTOR VEHICLE NEGLIGENCE - MULTIPLE VEHICLE COLLISION - DEFENDANT ATTEMPTS TO MERGE FROM ON RAMP AND STRIKES VEHICLE THAT SPINS INTO PLAINTIFF'S VEHICLE - CERVICAL DISC INJURY - INJECTIONS - DECOMPRESSION AND FUSION SURGERY.

• Pages: 7-8

hicle head-on. As a result, the plaintiff sustained

serious injuries including bilateral leg fractures, a bro-

ken wrist, chipped cervical bone, torn ACL, and torn

PCL. The plaintiff maintained that he will suffer residual

pain from his injuries for the rest of his life.

The plaintiff maintained that the defendant driver was

negligent in operating a vehicle under the influence

of alcohol, traveling too fast for conditions, failing to

maintain a proper lookout, and failing to keep the ve-

hicle under proper and adequate control. The plain-

tiff also maintained that the defendant convenience

store violated Dram Shop Laws, negligently sold alco-

hol to an underage buyer and failed to properly train

their employees. The defendant driver denied all alle-

gations of negligence and maintained that the ac-

tions of the plaintiff caused or contributed to the

contact between the vehicles. The defendant conve-

nience store also denied all allegations of negli-

gence denying that it was the store that sold the

alcohol to the defendant driver’s friend.

The jury found in favor of the plaintiff against the de-

fendant driver and the defendant convenience store.

The plaintiff was awarded $3,064,000 for his injuries

and an additional $100,000 was awarded to the

plaintiff in punitive damages against the defendant

Watts.

REFERENCE

Damien Cooper vs. Jackson Watts and Sunoco, LP

and Sunoco Retail. Case no. 2017 CP-10-06307;

Judge Jennifer McCoy, 11-10-21.

Attorney for plaintiff: David Yarborough in

Charleston, SC. Attorney for defendant: Mark Steven

Barrow of Sweeny, Wingate & Barrow, P.A. in

Columbia, SC. Attorney for defendant: Robert

Edward Kneece in Charleston, SC.

COMMENTARY

The plaintiff required multiple surgical procedures following the

accident. He also underwent extensive physical therapy. According

to medical records and expert testimony the plaintiff still suffers

from significant pain on a daily basis due to the injuries from the

motor vehicle accident. He reports never being pain free and his

quality of life and emotional health has been severely impacted.

The plaintiff has been diagnosed with major depressive disorder

and reports significant anxiety regarding his permanent pain. The

plaintiff also reports significant anxiety regarding employability as

physical labor is no longer an option for him and he is only 25

years old.

$2,750,000 VERDICT – MOTOR VEHICLE NEGLIGENCE – MULTIPLE VEHICLE

COLLISION – DEFENDANT ATTEMPTS TO MERGE FROM ON RAMP AND STRIKES

VEHICLE THAT SPINS INTO PLAINTIFF’S VEHICLE – CERVICAL DISC INJURY –

INJECTIONS – DECOMPRESSION AND FUSION SURGERY.

Philadelphia County, PA

The plaintiff in this vehicular negligence action

maintained that she suffered serious injuries to

her neck when her vehicle was struck by a vehicle

that spun out of control after it was contacted by

the defendant who was attempting to merge with

traffic. The defendant generally denied all

allegations of negligence and injury.

On August 28, 2017, the female plaintiff was operat-

ing her vehicle southbound on Pennsylvania State

Route 33 southbound near the Freemansburg on

ramp. The defendant was operating a vehicle

owned, maintained, and controlled by the defen-

dant, Hertz. As the defendant driver was attempting

tomergeontoRoute33,shestruckavehiclethat

spun into the front right side of the plaintiff’s vehicle

causing the plaintiff, to sustain personal injuries.

The allegations of negligence against the defendant

contained in the plaintiff’s complaint were failing to

have her motor vehicle under proper and adequate

control, being inattentive to her driving, failing to

maintain a proper lookout, failing to maintain control

of her motor vehicle, failing to operate her vehicle at

a safe speed, driving while distracted, failing to yield

the right-of-way while under a duty to do so. Conse-

quently, the plaintiff sustained injuries to cervical

spine, thoracic spine, lumbar spine, left shoulder, left

arm pain, left elbow, left wrist injuries and left hand;

the spine injuries required surgery.

The defendant Hertz was dismissed prior to trial and

the plaintiff’s husband dropped his loss of consortium

claim. The jury found that the defendant was negli-

gent, and the plaintiff was entitled to recover future

medical expenses of $325,000 and past and future

pain and suffering of $2,425,000 for a total of

$2,750,000.

REFERENCE

Angelic S. and Nathan Spagnole vs. Clare Lee and

Hertz Rental Company. Case no. 190802532; Judge

Susan Schulman, 11-10-21.

Attorney for plaintiff: Andrew L. Riemenschneider of

Law Offices of Andrew L. Riemenschneider in North

Wales, PA. Attorney for defendant: Daniel C.

Moraglia of Bennett, Bricklin & Saltzburg, LLC in

Philadelphia, PA.

COMMENTARY

The medical records provided by the plaintiff were extensive. Fol-

lowing the accident, the plaintiff had 4 months of physical therapy

and had a cervical MRI in April 2018 which showed a disc

SUMMARIES WITH TRIAL ANALYSIS 7

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