Melissa Ann O'Donnell suffered injuries after this Nissan Sentra she was driving was struck by a vehicle Ross Keblish was driving in September 2018 in Fairfield. O'Donnell recently settled for $1.2 million. Courtesy photo

Plaintiffs attorney Nick Wocl knew he had a strong case: A defendant who had admitted liability, and a client who had suffered injuries to her left hip and left eye socket following a September 2018 car crash in Fairfield.

The managing member of Stamford-based Wocl Leydon knew that defendant Ross Keblish had told police he had difficulty seeing because his windows were fogged up at the time of the accident.

But Wocl wanted more for an airtight case. He also knew the defendant had given his insurance carrier a recorded statement. So the attorney asked—and received—those transcripts, as well as the recording. The transcripts, though, had no mention of the windows being fogged, so Wocl decided to listen to the audio himself.

"Mr. Keblish was not under oath with the insurance company, and the person taking the transcript was not a court reporter," Wocl said Monday. "How do you know if the transcription is accurate? I listened to the tape myself. And sure enough, he says the windows were fogged up. We went the extra step to listen to the actual tape. Ninety-five percent of attorneys, I'd guess, would not do that. They'd never even ask for the audiotape."

That recording helped cement a $1.2 million settlement on March 25 for client Melissa Ann O'Donnell, who filed an amended complaint in Bridgeport Superior Court against driver Keblish and his father, Paul, who owned the vehicle.

Defense counsel Lewis Lerman, of Halloran & Sage in Westport, declined to comment.

But in court pleadings, the defendants argued that O'Donnell was in part to blame for the crash. They claimed she had "failed to keep a reasonable and proper lookout for other vehicles on the roadway."

The settlement money was disbursed last week, Wocl said.

"To get a big verdict, you need a sympathetic plaintiff, which we had," Wocl said. "And you need the jury to get angry at the defendant. I think they would have gotten angry because he was driving the car with a fogged windshield."

Wocl's 30-year-old client had to be extricated from her vehicle, and had surgery to her left hip, which was dislocated. She also had surgery to the base of her left eye socket.

Both cars were totaled, and Wocl said the impact of the crash caused both vehicles to rotate in a counterclockwise position.

Keblish "made a left-hand turn, and never saw my client's headlights, and never saw her car until a split-second before impact," Wocl said.

The plaintiff's initial demand was for $2 million, while the defense's first offer was for $250,000.

Medical expenses, Wocl said, totaled $190,153.

The case was settled with the help of mediator John Kennedy, of New Haven-based Kennedy, Johnson, Schwab & Roberge.

Read more:

'We Inundated Them With Medical Records': How Torrington Attorney Secured $385,000 MVA Settlement