Plaintiffs attorney Pamela Levin Cameron was faced with an uphill battle when she took on the case of Department of Transportation snow plow driver William Julian Jr., whose vehicle was rear-ended in a snowstorm in March 2017.

The problem for Cameron: Julian had stopped at the side of the highway on Route 8 in Torrington to clear snow from his windshield when a private snow plow that Peter Rosko was driving rear-ended the vehicle. The defense attorneys dug in their heels in contending that Julian should not have pulled over on the side of the highway in somewhat blizzard conditions, where he was sure to be hit.

While the defense dug in, so did Cameron, a partner with Middlebury-based Moore, O'Brien & Foti. That digging in paid off for Cameron, who secured a $590,000 settlement for Julian, who underwent two separate cervical fusions on his neck after the accident.

"Our position was that if the defendant could not see ahead of him, he should have stopped his vehicle as well and cleared his windshield," Cameron said. "Or if the defendant was able to see, he should have been far enough behind my client to avoid hitting him, especially in a snowstorm."

The defense, Cameron said, also maintained that Rosko, who was driving a snow plow that M.R. Bart Construction Corp. owned, shouldn't be held liable, because there were whiteout conditions. The defense, in court papers, also claimed that Julian "abruptly stopped his vehicle without warning" and "was operating his vehicle erratically."

Cameron went to work. She argued in two separate mediations that Rosko had experience dealing with driving in snowstorms "and, of all people, should know that he should have been farther behind the plow. He should have known that sometimes a plow has to stop to clear the windshield in those cases. He should have been knowledgeable."

In addition, Cameron said, "We had pictures showing the strobe lights of my client's vehicle going at the scene of the accident. My client had 15 years of experience with the state and clearly knew what he was doing in terms of driving a plow in severe weather conditions."

Julian, a 59-year-old Torrington resident, was clearing the windshield while in the vehicle, Cameron said. "He took his seat belt off, and had to lean out of the vehicle a little to clear the windshield and that is when he was hit," she said.

"The defense was trying to make it more than just a rear-ender. They were trying to make it more complicated than it was," Cameron said.

A lawsuit was filed in August 2018 in Litchfield Superior Court.

Representing Rosko was Cheshire-based Nuzzo & Roberts attorney Bridget Ciarlo, who did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday. Police found Rosko at fault for the accident but did not give a written warning due to conditions, Cameron said.

Julian, Cameron said, was forced to leave his job as a driver with the state Department of Transportation "since he lost his commercial driving license because of his medical condition. He is not able to do the same job."

The case was settled Feb. 20 with the help of two mediators: retired Judge Terence Zemetis and current jurist, Judge John Moore.

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