A Monmouth County jury on June 5 awarded $2.5 million to a woman for complications following foot surgery in her suit against her podiatrist, Ronneberg v. Sullivan.

According to court documents and an attorney in the case, plaintiff Nicole Ronneberg was 20 years old on March 8, 2013, when she underwent surgery on her right foot to correct a bunion, performed by defendant James Sullivan, a podiatrist with offices in Wall and Point Pleasant.

Ronneberg was admitted to the hospital several days after the procedure with a possible issue of blood flow to the toe, and an infection. Sullivan treated her with antibiotics and after several days discharged her, but the wound on her right big toe wouldn't heal, and she subsequently had 257 visits with Sullivan, and underwent numerous debridements and skin grafts, according to her lawyer, James Martin of Martin Kane & Kuper in East Brunswick.

She developed osteomyelitis, an infection in the bone, and ultimately was treated by an orthopedic surgeon who in July 2014 surgically removed bone from her right big toe, resulting in disfigurement and mobility issues.

Ronneberg's gait was affected, which is now leading to hip and knee issues, and she doesn't go to the beach or wear open-toed shoes, Martin said.

The suit claimed Sullivan failed to diagnose and properly treat the postoperative infection, alleging that he deviated from the standard of care.

Sullivan “[denied] any such deviation and further contends that all care and treatment rendered to the plaintiff met the accepted standard of care,” according to court documents.

Sullivan made no settlement offer, Martin said.

Following a three-week trial before Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Lourdes Lucas, the jury awarded $2.5 million on June 5. Lucas entered judgment in a June 20 order.

The jury deliberated for 40 minutes and awarded $2 million for future pain and suffering, and $500,000 for past pain and suffering, Martin said, noting that each side had three medical experts.

Sullivan has $1 million in known medical malpractice coverage, Martin said.

Sullivan's counsel, Dominic DeLaurentis of Stahl & DeLaurentis in Runnemeade, declined to comment on the settlement.

— David Gialanella

Rest Stop Fall Nets $1.38M in Essex

Finn v. HMS Host Corp.: The family of a woman who suffered a traumatic brain injury in a slip and fall at the Vince Lombardi Service Area on the New Jersey Turnpike agreed to a $1.375 million settlement in their Essex County suit on May 23.

Catherine Finn, now 62, of Yonkers, New York, visited the facility on Aug. 21, 2016, after it had been raining for several hours. But facility management failed to place any rubber mats outside the entry doors, violating their own policies, and Finn slipped as she stepped onto a wet tile floor, said the plaintiff lawyer, Andrew Statmore of Fredson Statmore Bitterman in Bloomfield.

Finn hit her head and lost consciousness. She sustained a scalp hematoma and subdural hemorrhage, and was diagnosed with traumatic brain injury, Statmore said.

She was admitted for a 10-day, inpatient cognitive evaluation in June 2018 and exhibited deficits in speech and language therapy, and occupational and physical therapy, and issues with memory, dizziness, changes in personality, headaches, irritability and depression, Statmore said.

The suit named the New Jersey Turnpike Authority and HMS Host Corp., contracted operator of the rest area, as defendants.

The Turnpike Authority was dismissed from the case.

The settlement was reached following mediation with Mark Epstein, a former Superior Court judge with Hoagland, Longo, Moran, Dunst & Doukas in New Brunswick.

The lawyer for HMS Host, Richard Sexton of Rawle & Henderson in Philadelphia, didn't return a call about the case.

— Charles Toutant

$1.25M For Child Struck on Bicycle

Cundey v. Rantz: The case of a Mantoloking girl struck by a motorist while riding her bicycle settled for $1.25 million following a jury trial in Ocean County, but before a verdict. The case went to trial on May 28 and settled on June 5 before Superior Court Judge Craig L. Wellerson.

The accident occurred at 8:01 a.m., on Aug. 14, 2015, in Bay Head. Pilar Cundey, then 10, was traveling north on the left side of Clayton Avenue when she passed a legally parked truck in front of a home, according to the police report.

The report said defendant Charles R. Rantz, then 77 and a resident of Royersford, was traveling south on Clayton Avenue and struck Cundey head-on with the right front of his tan 2007 Honda Odyssey minivan.

Cundey, who was wearing a helmet, was propelled forward, and her head contacted the vehicle. She was rendered comatose for five days and sustained a diffuse traumatic axonal brain injury, the suit claimed. Cundey's medical experts testified that she continues to suffer from social awkwardness, some physical clumsiness, neuro-fatigue and flat affect, the suit claimed.

Cundey was represented by Brian McAlindin of Bathgate, Wegener & Wolf in Lakewood.

According to McAlindin, Rantz's defense was that he never saw Cundey prior to striking her and was driving only 20 miles per hour at the time. Rantz said Cundey was not visible in enough time to allow evasive action, and told police he didn't see her, according to the report.

Cundey didn't dispute the speed, but contended that Rantz had an unobstructed view of the road and should have seen her.

Rantz was represented by Jessica Adams of the Mount Laurel office of Callegher, Mensching & Carro. Adams had no comment.

At trial, McAlindin's expert opined that Rantz should have seen the child when turning left onto Clayton Avenue, about 500 feet from the accident site, and again as Cundey emerged from behind the parked truck. Adams' expert contended that Cundey was negligent in unlawfully operating the bicycle by failing to keep to the right side of the road, and that Rantz could not have anticipated a child emerging from behind a parked vehicle.

McAlindin contended that Pilar rode her bicycle to avoid traffic and dangerous crossings, as instructed by her parents, and did so in a reasonable way.

Cundey's parents, Mary Ellen and David Cundey, were named in a counterclaim by Rantz for negligent parental supervision, for instructing their daughter to operate her bike on the left side of the road. Judge Wellerson, finding no willful, wanton or reckless conduct, dismissed that claim by directed verdict at the conclusion of evidence.

The couple was represented in the counterclaim by Jack Burke of Burke & Potenza in Parsippany. Burke did not return a call.

Following completion of the trial but prior to jury deliberation, McAlindin said, Farmers Insurance, Rantz's auto carrier, tendered the primary and excess policy limits, totaling $1.25 million, to settle the case.

Cundey, according to court documents, was about to enter fifth grade at the Pingry School, a private preparatory school in Basking Ridge, a few weeks after the accident. She underwent extensive inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation. Cundey's academic advisor testified in the case that significant accommodations were made for her instruction at the school.

“Pilar is now 14, and she just completed eighth grade at the Pingry School,” McAlindin said. “Fortunately, she has had a remarkable recovery and is once again a straight-A student.”

— Suzette Parmley