Stamford Police Department headquarters. Photo: Google

A Cheshire attorney has secured a $100,000 settlement for a 63-year-old man, who became a partial quadriplegic after a vehicle struck him on a crosswalk on a busy Stamford street in October.

Attorney Frank Bartlett represented pedestrian George Dempsey. Prior to filing a lawsuit, he finalized the settlement with the insurance adjuster for driver Margaret Kerrane.

According to the police report and Bartlett, owner of the Bartlett Legal Group, Kerrane's 2012 Hyundai Accent struck Dempsey, who was in the crosswalk on Strawberry Hill Ave.

The police report said Dempsey rolled over the hood and into the windshield, before the impact sent him flying through the air, throwing him about 50 feet from the car.

Bartlett concedes his client crossed the street without pressing the traffic-light button to illuminate flashing yellow lights that would have alerted drivers to a pedestrian in the crosswalk.

Nevertheless, "the driver still has the duty to use reasonable care to avoid pedestrians. She did not do that," Bartlett said. "There was no indication she was speeding. It's another example of a driver not paying appropriate attention to their surroundings."

Since no lawsuit was filed, Kerrane had no counsel. Bartlett instead worked with Ameriprise insurance adjuster Kendall Martell, who was out of the office Monday and not immediately available for press comment before deadline. The settlement was with the insurer, Ameriprise.

Bartlett said his client broke his back and suffered a cord contusion, which resulted in Dempsey being left as a partial quadriplegic, who now lives at a rehabilitation facility.

"He has very limited functions in his upper extremities, and almost no function at all in his lower extremities," Bartlett said.

Bartlett said Dempsey also broke his right arm, suffers from respiratory failure, and is required to be on a breathing machine. Medical bills have reached about $500,000, Bartlett said.

"It's one of those situations where the recovery is limited by the limited insurance and the lack of assets," Bartlett said. "Ms. Kerrane had a $100,000 insurance policy, but she was not operating the vehicle in the course of her employment, so there was no visible claim against the employer. She also did not have any other non-exempt assets that could be used to satisfy an eventual judgment."

Plus Dempsey had only a small uninsured-motorist policy on his own automobile insurance, which might have otherwise provided an additional avenue of recovery.

"My takeaway from this is that this case really highlights the importance of having underinsured/uninsured motorist coverage," Bartlett said.

The plaintiff team noted "the limitations we had with the settlement," but said Dempsey and his family "understood that this was the best possible outcome given the circumstances."

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