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$350,000 result- cited in The New York Jury Verdict
Reporter
VII/42-34 Motor Vehicle - Rear End - Herniated Disc
SETTLEMENT: Lonzine Wright v. Felice and Edith Agnifilo Date
of Settlement 4/6/90 Bronx Supreme
Pltf. Atty: Alan M. Greenberg of Barton & Zasky, Manhattan
This action settled for $350,000 during jury deliberations.
Pltf. was a 47-year-old cashier who was injured when Deft.'s
vehicle struck hers in the rear at the intersection of Kimball
Ave. and the service road for the X-County Shopping Center in
Yonkers. The accident occurred on 11/14/85 at 6 PM during a
heavy rainstorm. Pltf. was stopped at a red light at the
intersection when Deft. Edith Agnifilo came over the crest of a
hill, braked, and skidded into the rear of Pltf.'s car. Although
Pltf. was wearing a seat belt, she was thrown into the steering
wheel and the car was pushed several feet. She claimed that the
impact was heavy. Deft. claimed that she was 30 feet away from
Pltf. when she first braked and that she skidded on wet leaves.
She sideswiped another car before striking Pltf. Deft. also
claimed that the impact amounted to nothing more than a "light
tap." The Deft. driver and several of Pltf.'s physicians did not
appear at trial, and missing witness charges were given to the
jury. Injuries: Pltf. claimed that she sustained a herniated
disc at L4-5 with radiculopathy. She was out of work for 5 years
after the accident and uses a cane to ambulate. Deft. contended
that two of three CAT scans were negative and that the other CAT
scan showed bulging, although this was questionable. Deft.
argued that Pltf. had suffered only soft tissue sprains which
should have resolved long before trial. Demonstrative evidence:
photos of accident scene; skeletal model. Pltf. Experts: Dr.
Andrew Brown, physiatrist, Manhattan; Dr. Morton Finkel,
neurologist, Manhattan. Deft. Expert: Dr. Robert Zaretsky, orth.
surg., Manhattan.
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