Editor's Note: This list replaces the one published on August 27, 2018.

These awards, ranging from $3.5 million down to $2.5 million, were reported by the Law Journal between Aug. 22, 2017, and Aug. 20, 2018. They are ranked in order of their value as of the date of verdict or settlement. Awards of equal value share a ranking—this year we have a two-way tie at number 6 ($2.6 million), and a three-way tie at number 8 ($2.5 million). Tied cases are not listed in any particular order. Awards for multiple parties are ranked by their lump-sum value. Although the numbers only go up to eight, there are 10 cases listed.

1. Middlesex Jury Awards $3.5M for Rear-End Collision

Published: 8/20/2018

A Middlesex County jury on Aug. 2 awarded $3.5 million in Leighton v. Flack, a suit lodged over injuries sustained when the plaintiff's car was struck from behind by a commercial vehicle.

Plaintiff Michael Leighton, of Keasbey, now 59, was injured on April 21, 2014, as he was stopped at a light on Princeton Avenue in Lawrenceville, said Leighton's attorney, Kelly Castor.

Leighton's car was struck from behind by a vehicle owned by Scott Testing Inc. of Hamilton and driven by an employee, Steven Flack, said Castor, of the law office of Katherine Houghton in Paramus.

Leighton sustained herniation and disc bulges at the cervical level and two lumbar herniations, which were treated with chiropractic treatment and pain injections, Castor said. The suit claimed Leighton experiences daily pain, and cannot walk long distances, work around the house or engage in other activities, Castor said. His doctors said that without further treatment, including epidural injections or discectomy procedures, the discs would not heal properly, Castor said.

Defendant, Castor said, argued that Leighton's neck and back injuries were unrelated to the accident and claimed preexisting spinal degeneration. A lumbar MRI 20 years earlier had shown a disc bulge and degeneration, and he admitted having previous low back pain in 2012, she said.

Superior Court Judge Gary Wolinetz presided over the trial. New Jersey Manufacturers Insurance Co., the carrier for Scott Testing, retained Thomas Mulcahy of Purcell, Mulcahy & Flanagan in Bedminster. He did not return a call about the case.

2. C-Section Injury Results in $3.35M Settlement

Published: 5/7/2018

A Hudson County judge on Feb. 21 approved a $3.35 million settlement reached in Jiminez v. Jersey City Medical Center. The case was brought on behalf of a woman who sustained brain damage during a Cesarean section procedure.

In April 2013, Frida Jiminez, then 35, went to Jersey City Medical Center for the procedure, which had been scheduled because of a placental condition known as placenta previa, which can cause bleeding. The procedure proceeded well, with the child being delivered healthy, but as removal of the placenta began, Jiminez started bleeding heavily because of a more serious placental condition, placenta accreta, according to plaintiff counsel William Crutchlow of Eichen Crutchlow Zaslow in Edison.

The obstetrician performing the surgery, Cheryl Carter, M.D., determined that a hysterectomy would be required, to which Jiminez verbally assented, Crutchlow said. Jiminez was administered a general anesthetic, and Carter solicited help from another obstetrician, with roughly 45 minutes passing between that time and when the procedure was completed, the suit claimed.

According to Crutchlow, Jiminez's oxygen levels dropped because of continued blood loss, and she was left without a pulse for several minutes before being revived. As a result, she sustained brain damage that has rendered her nonverbal and in need of assistance for most daily tasks, he said. Relatives are raising the child, he added.

Jiminez stayed at Jersey City Medical Center for a period of years and since was moved to a long-term care facility in Jersey City, though the family intends for her ultimately to live with relatives in Mexico, Crutchlow said, noting that the lifetime cost of life-care plans was estimated at $18 million for at-home care or $8.7 million for facility care.

The suit claimed Carter and the anesthesiologist, Alexander Gak, M.D., were negligent, alleging that Carter should have performed the hysterectomy immediately, and that the doctors should have triggered a “rapid transfusion protocol” sooner, in order to address the blood loss. Also named as defendants were the hospital, on the theory of apparent agency, and the OB/GYN department chair, Michael Bimonte, M.D.,, who the suit claimed failed to have a procedure in place to deal with placental complications of the type Jiminez experienced.

According to Crutchlow, Carter contended that she had no time to prepare for the complication and handled the situation properly. She contended that Gak didn't effectively advise her in real time about the status of the patient's vital signs, while Gak contended that Carter didn't effectively advise him in real time as to the level of blood loss. Biomonte contended that the practice group had proper procedures in place. The defendants disputed liability through expert testimony, Crutchlow said.

The parties had completed expert discovery and were ready for trial when they settled. Gak agreed to pay $2 million, and Carter, $1 million—each sum representing the doctor's policy limit, Crutchlow said. The hospital agreed to pay $250,000, and Bimonte, $100,000, he said.

Hudson County Superior Court Judge Joseph Isabella on Feb. 21 approved the settlement in a friendly hearing.

Calls to defense counsel—Sam Rosenberg of Rosenberg, Jacobs & Heller in Morris Plains, for Jersey City Medical Center, Carter and Biomonte; and Richard Tamn of Krompier & Tamn in Parsippany, for Gak—were not returned.

3. Delayed Diagnosis Case Yields $3.1M Verdict in Passaic

Published: 3/12/2018

A Passaic County jury delivered a $3.1 million verdict on Feb. 1 in a medical malpractice suit, Estate of Dalessandro v. Siegel, claiming diagnosis of Vincent Dalessandro's gastric cancer was delayed by five months. But the award was reduced by 15 percent, to $2.635 million, based on the chance that the outcome would have been the same even with an earlier diagnosis, as permitted under the 1990 Supreme Court ruling in Scafidi v. Seiler.

Dalessandro saw physician Harvey Siegel in May 2013 after he began suffering anemia. Dalessandro was diagnosed with stomach cancer six months later. The suit claimed that Siegel should have immediately referred the patient to a gastroenterologist for an endoscopy but failed to do so. By the time cancer was diagnosed, it had spread to the patient's liver. Dalessandro underwent chemotherapy but died two years and five months after his diagnosis. He was 44.

According to the estate's lawyer, Dennis Donnelly of the Donnelly Law Firm in Summit, at deposition and at trial, Siegel disputed liability. Although his records did not show a plan for referral to a gastroenterologist, he claimed he had urged Dalessandro to see one and warned of the risks of not doing so. The doctor's records showed he told the patient to take iron pills and to return in a week for blood work, but in a video recording of a discovery deposition that was played for the jury, Dalessandro said he received no advice about seeing a gastroenterologist, Donnelly said. Dalessandro was diagnosed after he collapsed while attending his son's hockey game, Donnelly said.

The defense argued that Dalessandro's conviction for second-degree theft five years earlier, which was admitted into evidence, should be considered for impeachment purposes, Donnelly said. The defense also claimed Dalessandro's alcoholism should be considered an avoidable consequence, he said. The jury was given a chance to make a deduction in the verdict based on the plaintiff's alleged negligence, but it declined to do so, according to Donnelly.

In addition, the defense also disputed causation, presenting testimony that Dalessandro's stomach tumor had already spread to the liver in June 2013. If that were the case, the patient would have had no chance of survival even if diagnosis was made on a timely basis, Donnelly said.

Following a four-week trial before Superior Court Judge Raymond Reddin, the jury granted gross awards of $250,000 for survival pain and suffering; $2 million for the dedecent's emotional distress and anxiety from the delayed diagnosis; $600,000 for loss of financial contribution and support to Dalessandro's 17-year-old son; and $250,000 for loss of parental services guidance, advice and counsel to his son.

Michael Heron of William Brennan's office in Shrewsbury, who represented Siegel, did not return a call about the case.

4. Atlantic City Police Excessive-Force Case Settles for $3M

Published: 9/11/2017

Atlantic City agreed to a $3 million settlement in an excessive-force suit by a man who was beaten by five police officers and mauled by a police dog in an incident captured on video.

David Castellani filed a lawsuit against the city and the officers in federal court over his 2013 assault outside the Tropicana Casino. The video of his attack was broadcast on CNN. On Aug. 23 the city agreed to the settlement terms, which also require that the police department demonstrate that its K9s meet the training and certification guidelines of the state Attorney General's Office.

The settlement was reached after U.S. District Judge Jerome Simandle of the District of New Jersey denied summary judgment to the city and the five officer defendants on July 21. The officer defendants decided to exercise their Fifth Amendment rights at trial, said Jennifer Bonjean, the Brooklyn lawyer who represented Castellani.

“The fact that they refused to testify was a major piece of why the city decided it was safer to settle,” Bonjean said.

Castellani, then 20, visited the Tropicana with a group of friends and became heavily intoxicated, Bonjean said. He became separated from the rest of the group and then got involved in a shouting match with several Atlantic City police officers. The officers assaulted and kicked Castellani and beat him with their batons, and a police dog bit him numerous times, the suit claims.

Castellani was arrested and charged with resisting arrest and aggravated assault, and was admitted to a pretrial intervention program. His suit was one of many filed against Atlantic City in recent years over the conduct of its police officers. A 2014 Law Journal analysis found that Atlantic City, the state's 55th largest municipality by population, was the first in the state in the number of police misconduct suits filed.

Todd Gelfand of Barker, Gelfand & James, who represented the city in the Castellani case, did not return a call about the settlement.

Bonjean, who has brought seven police misconduct suits against Atlantic City, said she sees sign of modest improvements in the city's police department, including a system to warn superiors about officers' misconduct.

“Until they start taking action against misconduct, as far as I'm concerned, the department can only change so much. I've not seen the actual following through of holding officers accountable,” Bonjean said.

5. Total Settlement of $2.85M for City Worker's Injury

Published: 3/26/2018

Pridgen v. City of Elizabeth: A former employee of the city of Elizabeth, who was injured when the street sweeper he was operating allegedly malfunctioned, will receive $2.85 million as compensation in his Union County suit.

The plaintiff, Jerry Pridgen, who lives in Elizabeth, agreed to the settlements with four defendants on March 19 after mediation with Robert Margulies of Margulies Wind in Jersey City, said Pridgen's attorney, Edward Capozzi.

Pridgen was injured on May 8, 2013, as he was operating a 2005 Johnson MX450 street sweeper on South Street in Elizabeth, according to Capozzi, of Brach Eichler in Roseland. A rear hopper, which Pridgen did not see, was locked in the raised position. The street sweeper struck a train overpass, and Pridgen was ejected from the machine, Capozzi said.

As a result of the accident, Pridgen sustain a traumatic brain injury with hemorrhaging, a skull base fracture, a right orbital fracture, multiple spinal fractures and a transverse process fracture, Capozzi said.

Pridgen, after being released from a hospital, was sent to a physical rehabilitation facility, Capozzi said.

Following the accident, a city employee wrote a memo indicating that the street sweeper likely malfunctioned as it was equipped with a limit switch that should have prevented the sweeper from moving forward or in reverse with the hopper raised, Capozzi said. The city then retained an expert who inspected the sweeper and determined that the sweeper had malfunctioned, Capozzi said.

The lawsuit alleged that after the inspection, the city sold the street sweeper for scrap and additionally sold a second, identical street sweeper for scrap prior to allowing the plaintiff or any other parties inspect the machines, Capozzi said.

Pridgen brought product liability claims against the manufacturer, Global Environmental Products Inc. of Canada; the distributer, U.S. Municipal Supply Inc. of Huntingdon, Pennsylvania.; and Johnston North America Inc. of Mooresville, North Carolina, whose name appeared on the street sweeper. The plaintiff also brought claims against the city for spoliation, fraudulent concealment and an intentional wrong claim.

The city agreed to pay $1.65 million in damages, and an unidentified carrier added $500,000, Capozzi said. Global Environmental's carrier, Travelers Insurance Co., agreed to pay $650,000. Earlier, U.S. Municipal Supply's carrier, Penn National Insurance Co., agreed to pay $25,000. Johnston's carrier, which was not identified, paid another $25,000.

A workers' compensation lien of $268,000 was waived.

The city and its carrier retained Robert Varady of La Corte, Bundy, Varady & Kinsella in Union. Travelers retained Lisa Marie DeRogatis of the Morristown office of William Staehle to represent Global Environmental. Jerald Oleske of Oleske & Oleske in Stirling represented U.S. Municipal Supply. Peter Oliver of New Brunswick's Hoagland, Longo, Moran, Dunst & Doukas represented Johnston.

Oleske confirmed the amount of his client's settlement. The others did not return phone calls seeking comment.

Corey Dietz, also of Brach Eichler, assisted with the representation of Pridgen.

6 (Tie). Motorist Struck By Police Car Settles for $2.6M

Published: 9/8/2017

A woman who suffered severe back pain after her vehicle collided with a police car received a $2.6 million settlement in her Morris County suit, LaLonde v. Mount Olive Police Department, on July 15.

Danielle LaLonde, now 37, was driving on Flanders-Netcong Road at the intersection with Route 206 in Mount Olive on April 25, 2012, when her car was struck on the right side by a police car driven by Officer Marianne Wurtemberg of the Mount Olive Police Department, according to plaintiff lawyer James McHugh of McHugh & Brancato in Boonton.

An investigation indicated Wurtemberg proceeded against a red light, without emergency lights or sirens, while she was talking on a handheld mobile phone, though she contended that she was pursuing a speeding vechicle when the accident occurred, McHugh said.

LaLonde was diagnosed with disc herniation with impingement on the nerve roots at L5-S1. After four operations on her back, she continues to suffer from chronic low back pain, with pain and loss of sensation in her left lower extremity, she claimed. Her doctors have recommended that she consider additional surgery to implant a spinal stimulator to attempt to address her symptoms, McHugh said.

LaLonde filed suit against the Mount Olive Police Department, the township and Wurtemberg. Superior Court Judge Maryann Nergaard denied the defendants' motions for summary judgment for good faith immunity and pursuit immunity.

The defendants' medical expert did not dispute the nature or extent of LaLonde's injuries but contended that they were not related to the accident at issue, according to McHugh.

The settlement of $2.6 million was reached June 8, following mediation with former Superior Court Judge Daniel Mecca of the Mecca Law Firm in Paramus.

Matthew Petracca of King & Petracca in Morris Plains, who represented the defendants, confirmed the amount of the settlement.

6 (Tie). Garbage Truck vs. Bicycle Accident Leads to $2.6M Settlement

Published: 12/22/2017

The City of Clifton agreed on Dec. 5 to a $2.6 million settlement in a Passaic County suit lodged by a bicyclist who was struck by a city sanitation truck, then blinded in one eye due to a complication from surgery.

According to attorneys in the case, Updegraph v. City of Clifton, Harry Updegraph, 46, was riding a bicycle on the right shoulder of Main Avenue in Clifton on April 15, 2015, when the sanitation truck passed him, then made a right turn in his path. Updegraph applied his brakes and attempted to turn to avoid the collision but was thrown forward and under the truck. He sustained scarring and fractures to the face, and fractures to the left shoulder and wrist. The loss of vision in his right eye is permanent.

Updegraph returned to work and did not suffer any short-term wage loss, but his vocational expert opined that the combined effect of his injuries would reduce his working life by seven years, at a cost of $742,000.

Updegraph sued Clifton and its driver, Omar Fernandez. The plaintiff contended that his blindness was the result of a surgical procedure that was necessitated by the original bicycle accident.

An accident reconstructionist for the plaintiff maintained that the truck driver was solely responsible for the accident. The defense maintained that Updegraph was in the act of passing the truck when the accident occurred. The defense reconstructionist determined that the plaintiff was solely at fault, adding that his failure to wear a bicycle helmet made the injuries worse.

The parties mediated with Mark Epstein, a former Superior Court judge now with Hoagland Longo Moran Dunst & Doukas in New Brunswick, said Louis DeVoto of Rossetti & DeVoto in Cherry Hill, who represented the plaintiff. The settlement was reached in discussion with Passaic County Superior Court Judge Randal Chiocca when the parties appeared for trial.

Harry Norton of Norton Murphy Sheehy & Corrubia in Woodland Park, representing Clifton, confirmed the settlement.

8 (Tie). Jury Awards $2.5M for Crash with Car Stopped on Turnpike

Published: April 2, 2018

In Coppola v. Yabon, a man involved in a crash while he was trying to avoid a car stopped on the New Jersey Turnpike was awarded $2.5 million on his under-insured motorist claim on March 9.

Shortly before 11 p.m. on Feb. 6, 2015, John Coppola was headed southbound from his Manhattan job to his Howell home, driving in the left lane, where a vehicle was stopped with no lights or flashers on. Coppola didn't see the stopped vehicle until he was about 30 feet away, and tried to swerve away but struck the vehicle, sending his vehicle to the center lane, where he was struck by another motorist, Dr. Bruce Aronwald, according to Coppola's counsel, Kathleen DiGiovanni of Levinson Axlerod in Howell.

Coppola, currently 47, sustained multiple fractures to his hip, requiring emergency surgery involving implantation of four plates and 13 screws, according to DiGiovanni. The suit claimed that Coppola will need a total hip replacement in the near future, and a revision surgery later in life, she said.

The suit named the operator of the vehicle stopped on the highway, Shaniya Yabon, and Aronwald. Yabon settled previously, and Coppola lodged an under-insured motorist claim against her carrier, Allstate. The UIM claim and claim against Aronwald went to trial.

At a four-day trial before Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Owen McCarthy, Allstate, standing in Yabon's shoes, contended that the accident was caused by Coppola's own negligence, as well as Aronwald's, according to DiGiovanni. The jury found Yabon 100 percent at fault for the accident, apportioned no liability to Coppola or Aronwald, and awarded $2.5 million for pain and suffering. The six-member jury was unanimous on everything but the finding of no fault against Coppola, which was a 5-1 vote, DiGiovanni noted.

Aronwald's counsel, Robert Borrelle of Schwab Haddix & Millman in Mount Laurel, confirmed the verdict.

Allstate's counsel, Fred Regenye of the Westfield office of Kenneth Lipstein, didn't return a call about the case.

8 (Tie). Accident with Judiciary Employee Leads to $2.5M Settlement

Published: 10/20/2017

A Howell woman will receive $2.5 million in Peraza v. Mark Stephanick as compensation for injuries she received when her car was struck from behind by a car driven by a state employee.

The State of New Jersey agreed to pay plaintiff Gina Peraza, now 50, on Sept. 11, said Peraza's lawyer, Paul Caliendo.

Peraza was injured on June 3, 2014, as she was dropping off her daughter at school in Howell, said Caliendo, of Woodbridge's Gill & Chamas.

Peraza's car, which was stopped in traffic, was struck from behind by a car driven by Mark Stephanick, an information technology worker employed by the state Administrative Office of the Courts, Caliendo said.

Peraza sustained numerous broken bones in her left foot, a right knee meniscus tear, and damage to the right knee and ankle, Caliendo said. She has undergone four surgeries since the accident that included the insertion and removal of hardware, he said.

The Attorney General's Office, which represented the AOC, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

8 (Tie). Pedestrian Struck by NJ Transit Bus Settles for $2.5M

Published: 9/1/2017

A 72-year-old man whose left foot was amputated after he was struck by a New Jersey Transit bus agreed to a $2.5 million settlement in his Essex County suit, Almeida v. New Jersey Transit Corp., on July 6.

Antonio Almeida was struck on Aug. 3, 2015, while he was crossing the street and the bus was making a left turn from Ferry Street onto Union Street in Newark. He suffered a crush injury to his left foot that necessitated amputation, according to his lawyer, Paul da Costa of Snyder Sarno D'Aniello Maceri & da Costa in Roseland.

As he crossed the crosswalk, Almeida thought at first that the bus driver saw him, but soon realized the bus was going too fast, when it struck him, according to da Costa.

Bus driver Winston Fraser said at the scene that Almeida walked into the side of the bus, and New Jersey Transit took that same position, da Costa said. But at his deposition, Fraser admitted he was checking his vehicle's outside mirrors at the time of the crash and he never saw Almeida until he was falling to the ground, da Costa said.

Almeida, who is retired, was fitted with a prosthetic foot but he finds it heavy and cumbersome, and has not acclimated to it, which limits his activity, da Costa said.

His suit named Fraser and New Jersey Transit as defendants.

The settlement was reached at mediation with former Superior Court Judge Judson Hamlin, now with the Keefe Law Firm in Red Bank.

Thomas Hart of Ruprecht Hart Weeks & Ricciardulli in Westfield, who represented the defendants, did not return a call.

New Jersey Transit representatives did not respond to a reporter's call about the settlement.