Plaintiff driver Olivia Noyes underwent surgery to the base of her skull following a December 2016 car accident in New Haven. She has settled her case for $800,000. Courtesy photo

For McEnery, Price, Messey & Sullivan owner Jerry McEnery, it was all about dueling doctors. He said he honed in on his doctor's superior credentials for a good shot at a high six-figure settlement for a client injured in a motor vehicle accident.

His client, plaintiff Olivia Noyes, underwent neurosurgery to the base of her skull in March, following a car accident three years earlier. It became evident, McEnery said, that surgery was the best option for his client.

Noyes' treating surgeon and plaintiff expert Michael DiLuna, the chief of pediatric neurosurgery at Yale New Haven Hospital, testified before New Haven Superior Court Judge Michael Kamp that Noyes needed the surgery, but the defense expert disagreed.

"The defense brought in a doctor who had not done research on this specific topic since the 1980s, and he was opining that Dr. DiLuna had it all wrong," McEnery said Wednesday. "That fed right into my wheelhouse."

The opinion of DiLuna coupled with his $975,000 offer of compromise cemented his case to Kamp, McEnery said.

A lawsuit was filed in New Haven Superior Court in July 2018.

McEnery, a Connecticut attorney based in Milford, said the defendant driver Jonathan Hill's insurance policy with Geico Insurance Co. was only for $20,000. This left McEnery to pursue his client's own $1 million policy with Safeco Insurance Co. of Illinois.

"I made it clear from the beginning that we were going to try the case in court before Judge Michael Kamp, and we were making an offer of compromise for $975,000," McEnery said Wednesday. "An excess verdict, even with an underinsured motorist policy, would result in an additional $150,000 to $200,000 when you put 8% interest on top of the million dollars. That was our strategy."

Representing defendant Safeco was Christopher Russo of Meehan, Roberts, Turret & Rosenbaum in Wallingford. Russo didn't respond to a request for comment.

In court pleadings, the defense said it had insufficient knowledge to comment on how Noyes was injured, and left it to the plaintiff to prove her case.

McEnery, meanwhile, said Safeco offered just $17,000 and then jumped to $500,000. But at that point, McEnery said, it was clear that, with DiLuna's testimony, the case was worth much more than $500,000.

The two sides agreed to settle the case for $800,000 and the money has been disbursed to Noyes, her attorney said.

Noyes, a 25-year-old MIlford resident, was injured after a car Hill was driving went into the driver's side of Noyes' Volkswagen Jetta sedan. The accident occurred on Route 15 in New Haven. Hill was given an infraction for following too closely.

McEnery said his client also had pain in her left arm and migraine headaches following the accident. The surgery, McEnery said, "went remarkably well."  He said Noyes' left arm pain and migraines have dissipated.

McEnery negotiated the case with Michelle Wissick, an adjuster for Safeco. Wissick didn't respond to a request for comment Wednesday.

Assisting McEnery were his colleagues, attorneys Bob Messey, Charles Price and Tracey Russo.

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