A woman who slipped on ice while disembarking from a US Airways flight at Newark Liberty International Airport agreed to a $3.1 million settlement in her Essex County suit, Crawley v. American Airlines Group, on May 21.

Towanna Crawley was required to disembark onto the tarmac on Feb. 5, 2014, because the commuter plane on which she flew was too small to use a jetway, said her lawyer, Todd Leonard. After taking a few steps on the tarmac, she encountered icy pavement and fell.

Crawley sustained injuries to her neck, back, and knee, and underwent three back surgeries and a cervical fusion. She is unable to continue her job as a kidney dialysis technician, said Leonard.

Crawley sued US Airways and its parent company, American Airlines; the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey; Snowlift Inc., a company that was under contract to remove snow and ice; and AFCO AV Ports, a company that was under contract to manage the airport.

The parties settled on May 21 in mediation with retired Superior Court Judge James Clyne of Benchmark Resolutions in Lambertville.

The settlement calls for Crawley to receive $3 million from the Port Authority, American Airlines and US Airways. They were insured by AIG Aerospace, which was represented by Douglas Amster and Peter Van Deventer of Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard and Smith in Newark. Amster declined to comment on the case.

Another $50,000 was paid to the plaintiff on behalf of defendant Snowlift Inc., who was insured by Starr Indemnity and Liability Company, and represented by Timothy Hourican of Brown Gavalas & Fromm in Clifton. He did not return a call about the case.

Finally, $50,000 was paid on behalf of AFCO AV Ports Management, who was insured by Ace Property and Casualty Insurance Co. and represented by Paul Piantino of White and Williams in Newark. He did not return a call.

— Charles Toutant

$1.75M Verdict in Birth Injury Case

Miller v. Grencavich: An Atlantic County jury on June 27 returned a $1.75 million verdict in a suit claiming a nurse midwife negligently caused a newborn’s shoulder injury during delivery.

According to attorneys and court documents, the delivery occurred at AtlanticCare Regional Medical Center on Oct. 30, 2013, when mother Jocelyn Drummond’s delivery was being managed by defendant Rachael Grencavich, a certified nurse midwife.

During delivery, as the baby’s left shoulder became caught on Drummond’s public bone, Grencavich attempted to use maneuvers to free the shoulder, and ultimately delivered the baby by pulling him from the birth canal by his head, said the plaintiffs’ attorney, Julie Nugent of Weiss & Paarz in Northfield, who handled the case with Robert Paarz of the same firm.

The baby, Adam, was born with shoulder dystocia—a birth injury whereby his left shoulder sustained nerve damage. Adam underwent corrective surgeries but has a permanent injury, Nugent said.

The suit claimed that Grencavich failed to follow a series of steps and maneuvers required by the standard of care, and failed to ensure that there were enough nurses present to help with the maneuvers, which require several sets of hands. The suit claimed Grencavich pulled on the baby’s head to effectuate delivery while the left shoulder was still caught, causing the injury.

The defense contended that Adam’s injury was caused by maternal forces during delivery, and that his injury will not be significantly limiting to him, Nugent and Paarz said.

They said they rejected the defense’s high-low offer, with a $500,000 high and a $100,000 low, made immediately before trial.

Prior to that, the plaintiffs offered to settle for the $1 million limit of Grencavich’s insurance policy, through Coverys, though the offer was rejected.

At trial before Atlantic County Superior Court Judge Christine Smith, the jury awarded $1 million for pain and suffering, $565,000 for future lost earning capacity, and $182,505 for past medical expenses. Nugent’s July 3 order of judgment molded the medical expenses down to $60,212 and applied prejudgment interest of $106,203, resulting in a judgment of $1.73 million, according to electronic court documents.

Post-trial motions are pending, according to the documents: the defense’s motion for a new trial, and the plaintiffs’ motion for legal fees and costs under the offer-of-judgment rule.

Nugent said her firm is seeking roughly $270,000 in fees and $100,000 in costs via their motion.

Grencavich’s counsel, Steve Drake of the Drake Law Firm in Absecon, didn’t return a call about the case.

— David Gialanella

$1M in Hudson Auto Case

Barredo v. Brakman: A Hudson County woman will receive a $1 million settlement for injuries she sustained when she was t-boned by another vehicle while waiting at a light, according to a July 9 settlement in her case.

On Jan. 28, 2017, plaintiff Dorothy R. Barredo of Jersey City was a passenger in a 2011 black Toyota pickup truck that was heading east on U.S. 322 in Woolwich, Gloucester County. A 2012 four-door, white Honda driven by Ross Brakman, then 49, of Woolwich, was traveling north on Locke Avenue, drove around a third vehicle at a stop sign, and t-boned the driver’s side door of Barredo’s Toyota, based on the original police report. The report listed “failing to yield right of way” to Barredo’s vehicle as cause of the accident when Brakman entered traffic.

As a result of the crash, Barredo, who was 59 at the time, aggravated a preexisting cervical and lumbar spine condition, the suit, venued in Hudson County, claimed

There was little difference in Barredo’s pre- and post-accident MRIs, but she underwent lumbar and cervical injections, and a cervical discectomy and fusion, according to court documents.

Following the surgery, Barredo, now 61, has not returned to work as a registered nurse and is still actively receiving treatment for her injuries, according to her attorney, Alex Capozzi of Brach Eichler in Roseland.

Brakman was represented by Jessica Adams of the Law Offices of Nancy Callegher in Mount Laurel. Adams did not return a call.

On July 9, the case settled at mediation with Mark Epstein, a retired Superior Court Judge now with Hoagland Longo Moran Dunst & Doukas in New Brunswick.

The matter was scheduled for trial in September 2019.

Capozzi said the insurance carrier, Farmers Insurance Company, will be covering the settlement.

“It was a privilege to represent Dorothy and her husband,” Capozzi said in a phone call. “We are very pleased to have delivered results in a difficult case knowing that Dorothy will be fairly compensated for injuries and suffering that has significantly impacted her life.”

— Suzette Parmley