Marc R. Jones, a partner in Cipriani & Werner, P.C.’s Mt. Laurel office, recently obtained a favorable award for his client in a Binding Arbitration for a U.S. District Court of New Jersey case involving a motor vehicle litigation claim.
Due to the ongoing Court and trial delays arising out of the pandemic, our clients have been asking for ways to obtain resolution of cases that cannot settle and we have recommended Binding Arbitration as an option.
In this matter, Plaintiff was sitting in his tractor trailer fully stopped waiting at a distribution center to unload his trailer. Defendant was maneuvering his tractor trailer in the parking lot when he impacted the front right bumper of Plaintiff’s tractor trailer. The impact was at less than 5 mph and there was minor damage. Despite this, Plaintiff claimed that he sustained cervical and lumbar herniations, left shoulder pain and ongoing issues and problems.
Plaintiff had been involved in several prior accidents, including a serious accident in 2015 when his tractor trailer slid on ice and he sustained very similar injuries to the areas complained of in this case. Discovery revealed that a few weeks before this accident, Plaintiff had seen his orthopedist complaining of the same injuries that he was now arguing were injured in this accident. Plaintiff also was involved in a subsequent accident with injuries to his left elbow.
Due to the fact that the U.S. Federal Court would not be listing this matter for trial for several years, Plaintiff agreed to submit the case to Binding Arbitration with retired Judge Mecca, who conducted an in-person hearing. After listening to testimony from the Plaintiff and being provided with all of the accident photos, Plaintiff’s medical records and defense expert reports, Judge Mecca awarded Plaintiff $48,000 which included all of the outstanding medical liens and expenses. Our insurance carrier client was very satisfied with the result since Plaintiff’s settlement demands were well over $300,000.
If you have any questions about this matter, please contact Marc Jones at mjones@c-wlaw.com or (856) 761-3800.