Suffolk County Multi-Vehicle Collision Settles for $10,000

A multi-vehicle collision occurred in Suffolk County, New York, involving a vehicle driven by the plaintiff's decedent, a defendant's van, and a third SUV. The plaintiff's decedent contended her vehicle was struck by the defendant van, propelled into the SUV, and then struck again by the van. The defendant van driver asserted the SUV initiated the collision by stopping short, causing the plaintiff's decedent to strike the SUV before the van then struck the plaintiff's decedent once. The plaintiff alleged the incident caused cervical and lumbar nerve root irritation, resulting in radiculopathy and an inability to return to work. The plaintiff's driver died from unrelated causes approximately two years later.

The plaintiff filed a negligence claim against the defendant van driver. The defendant argued that the plaintiff's decedent had experienced prior symptoms and undergone previous cervical and lumbar MRIs, with a defense radiologist's report indicating no post-accident changes in films. The SUV driver, named as a third-party defendant, was granted summary judgment before trial. A jury subsequently found the defendant van driver 60% negligent and the plaintiff's decedent 40% negligent. The jury also found for the defendant on the no-fault threshold. Prior to trial, the parties had entered into a high/low settlement agreement for $10,000/$100,000, and the case ultimately settled in accordance with that agreement.