Faced with a defense offer of $18,000 for a likable plaintiff who had suffered injuries to her back and neck following a three-car accident, plaintiffs attorney Ron Etemi knew he'd have a great chance of getting the $100,000 policy limit, once his client gave her deposition.

And, for Etemi, a trial attorney at Trantolo & Trantolo in Waterbury, that is just what happened.

"They took her deposition, and you could tell that she was really impacted by this collision," said Etemi, who worked with his brother Lou on the case. "There was no lying in her bones. … That came through, and a jury would see that. Jurors are sometimes skeptical of motor vehicle claims, but here we have a genuine and honest person, and a sympathetic witness. And the defense knew that."

The two sides agreed May 4 to settle the case for plaintiff Cheryl Barrett for $100,000.

Another deciding factor in the defense not pushing back on the policy limit, Etemi believes, was the detailed report that Barrett's treating orthopedic physician outlined. The defense paid the settlement, via State Farm, soon after Barrett's deposition and the doctor's report, Etemi said.

"I think we were very persistent with defense counsel, and they knew we were holding out for the entire policy, which was $100,000," Etemi said.

According to Etemi and the April 2018 lawsuit filed in Waterbury Superior Court, defendant driver Marie Claudio struck a vehicle that Donald McCafferty was driving on Route 8 in Ansonia. The McCafferty vehicle then rear-ended Barrett's Toyota Camry.

Representing the defendant driver was Harrison Robbins-Pesce, an attorney with New Haven-based Mills Law Firm. Robbins-Pesce did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday.

In court pleadings, Robbins-Pesce argued that blame shouldn't fall on his client Claudio, because the second driver, McCafferty, was at fault. The pleadings state that McCafferty "failed to keep a proper look out in that he failed to apply his breaks in a timely manner."

But the other driver also pointed fingers. In court pleadings, the attorney for McCafferty put the blame on Barrett, saying the plaintiff had "brought her vehicle to a sudden and abrupt halt, without giving any warning of her intention to do so."

Claudio was the only driver in the three-car accident to whom police issued a citation. She admitted fault at her deposition, and was issued a police infraction for following too closely, Etemi said.

Meanwhile, plaintiff Barrett, a 54-year-old Ansonia resident, was wearing a seatbelt and was driving alone. She suffered injuries to her back, lumbar spine and neck, Etemi said. She received injections in her back to ease the pain, but didn't have to undergo surgery, her attorney said Tuesday.

Barrett continues to have a 16% permanent impairment to her lower back. She also incurred about $33,000 in medical expenses, Etemi said.

Related stories: