As his client who was involved in a motorcycle accident was clinging to life, plaintiffs attorney Christian Young stayed at his beside for hours monitoring his condition, a decision that helped Young secure a $1.1 million settlement without filing a lawsuit.

"My distinct impression is that not many attorneys would spend hours and hours by the bedside of their client and spend time with the doctors and the nurses. Instead, most attorneys would have read from the records months later," said Christian Young, of counsel in the Bridgeport office of Cohen & Wolf.

Young kept watch over Robert Christiani, who doctors thought might not survive the night.

That vigil gave the lawyer firsthand access to information about his client's condition, and allowed him to see for himself the effects of the crash.

"I was able to hear directly from my client what happened, and how it impacted him," the attorney said. "I had firsthand information I relayed to the insurance adjuster, and not secondhand information."

Young said he wouldn't accept anything less than $1.1 million from National General Insurance Co., the carrier for defendant Martha Dubail's Jeep Cherokee, which had accidentally run over Christiani's motorcycle.

"We were not going to settle for less than $1.1 million," which was close to the policy limit, Young said Monday.

The attorney believes the information he provided helped the insurer agree to pay the $1.1 million settlement on May 4.

In addition to speaking to his client directly and gathering the medical information, including the X-rays, from the doctors who treated his client, Young's team was also able to access all of the official law enforcement records and speak to witnesses.

"The most damaging part of all of this was the injuries to my client, coupled with no contributory negligence," the attorney said.

Christiani, a 57-year-old Trumbull resident, was riding a Harley-Davidson V-Rod on Route 111 in Monroe on Oct. 24, 2019.

"Ms. Dubail's Jeep turned into my client's lane of travel without apparently seeing him," Young said. "She drove over him with her Jeep. She then panicked and hit the gas instead of the brake, and that caused the Jeep to then climb over my client. It's a miracle he is alive today."

Christiani was not wearing a helmet, but Connecticut law allows motorcyclists to ride without one. Christiani's passenger was thrown from the motorcycle, and suffered lesser injuries, Young said.

Police issued Dubail an infraction for failure to grant the right of way, Young said.

Young said his client underwent three surgeries to install rods and screws in his foot and ankle, and repair a shattered left hip.

Representing the insurance carrier was adjuster Peter Catanzaro, who declined to comment on the case Monday afternoon.

Young said his client is now able to stand.

"He can move and cover shorter distances with the help of a walker or cane," the attorney said. "However, the damage to his joints has been crippling."

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