A Middlesex County jury awarded $11.05 million on November 28 in Fava v. Moss, a medical malpractice suit brought by a man who had both legs amputated due to delayed treatment for his circulatory condition.

According to the suit, plaintiff Michael Fava was brought to the emergency room at John F. Kennedy Medical Center in Edison on May 13, 2013, with severe leg pain and an inability to move his legs. His legs had no pulse and were swollen, dictating an immediate surgical procedure to relieve pressure, said plaintiff lawyer Carol Forte. The emergency room doctor called in surgeon Vincent Moss at 5 a.m., but Moss said he would see the patient later in the day, she said.

Moss claimed at trial that he did provide a consultation, but there was no note in the chart from him on that date, calling into question whether he saw the patient at all, according to Forte, of Blume, Forte, Fried, Zerres & Molinari in Chatham. Moss' colleague, Harold Chung-Loy, claimed he saw the patient that day at 7 p.m., but he, too, failed to enter any note in the chart, suggesting he did not see the patient either, Forte said. Both doctors testified that Fava's leg problems were too advanced to benefit from surgery, according to Forte.

Fava had a fasciotomy surgery three days after he was admitted, but he nonetheless required amputation of both legs above the knee.

After a three-week trial before Superior Court Judge Phillip Paley in Middlesex County, the jury awarded $7.5 million in past and future pain and suffering, and $3.55 million in future medical expenses, for a total of $11.5 million. The jury apportioned 45 percent of liability to Moss and 45 percent to Chung-Loy, and 10 percent to the patient's pre-existing condition, bringing the total award to $9.94 million.

Forte tried the case along with Kenneth Elwood of the same firm.

The lawyer for Moss and Chung-Loy, David Weeks of Ruprecht, Hart & Weeks in Westfield, and Robert Donnelly Jr. of Dughi Hewitt & Domalewski in Cranford, representing the hospital, did not return calls about the verdict.

— Charles Toutant

$1.075M in Student's Pedestrian Case

Emerson v. Naked Pizza: A Princeton University graduate student is to receive $1.075 million in compensation for injuries she sustained when she was struck by a pizza delivery car while she was attempting to cross a street.

Plaintiff Nyssa Emerson, now 28, agreed to the settlement with New Jersey Manufacturers Insurance Co., the carrier for defendant Steven Cruz, the driver, and with American International Group, the carrier for Cruz's employer, Naked Pizza of Princeton, on Dec. 5, said Emerson's attorney, Richard Brockway.

AIG will pay $775,000, and NJM will pay $300,000, according to Brockway, of Bramnick Rodriguez Grabas Arnold & Mangan of Scotch Plains. Brockway said the case was scheduled to go to trial on Dec. 11 in Mercer County Superior Court.

Emerson was injured on April 8, 2015, as she was crossing Washington Road in Princeton, Brockway said.

Cruz, who was delivering a pizza in his personal car, said during a deposition that he took between 3 and 7 seconds to look at his GPS and did not see Emerson crossing the street, Brockway said. Emerson was thrown into the air, struck Cruz's windshield and was thrown 94 feet, he said.

Emerson sustained two broken legs, a broken rib, lumbar fractures, and bruising to her head and body, Brockway said. She also suffers from anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder. She spent 12 days in a hospital and then a month at a rehabilitation facility. She has undergone counseling and still has hardware in her back and leg, Brockway said.

AIG retained W. John Weir, of Weir and Associates in Pennington, while NJM retained Geri Jaffee, of the Cherry Hill office of Marks, O'Neill, O'Brien, Doherty & Kelly. Neither returned calls seeking comment.

— Michael Booth

$575K for Tenant's Slip on Steps

Carter v. 247-49 Newark Ave. Corp.: An apartment tenant who injured his ankle while climbing the icy front steps to his building was paid a $575,000 settlement in his Essex County suit on Nov. 27.

On Jan. 24, 2015, Kevin Carter, then 34, was ascending the steps to his apartment, on Newark Avenue in Jersey City, when he lost his balance. He didn't fall, but twisted his left ankle, chipping his ankle bone and developing a talar dome lesion that required arthroscopic surgery and reconstruction of the ligament, said his lawyer, Richard Reinartz of the Reinartz Law Firm in Hackensack.

Carter also underwent a procedure in which cartilage from his knee was implanted in his ankle, Reinartz said, noting that Carter was able to return to work as a bank compliance officer but has ongoing pain and walking limitations.

The fall occurred in Hudson County, but the suit was filed in Essex, where Carter had moved at the time it was filed. The action named the property owner, 247-49 Newark Ave. Corp., and the property manager, JC/NB Property Owners, claiming that they failed to clear the front steps after a snowstorm.

The defendants, contesting liability, contended that the snowstorm was still in progress when Carter fell, according to Reinartz.

The defendants, both covered by Philadelphia Indemnity as per an indemnity agreement between the property owner and manager, agreed to the settlement on Nov. 6, during mediation with Eugene Codey, a retired Superior Court Judge with Connell Foley in Roseland. The matter was still in discovery, Reinartz said.

Daniel McCarey of Warren, representing the defendants, didn't return a call seeking comment on the case.

— David Gialanella