Robbi Baba

A woman who suffered injuries of the cervical spine when her car was struck from behind by a New York City garbage truck has agreed to a $3.7 million settlement in her Morris County suit, Diamante v. City of New York.

Violetta Diamante was traveling north on Route 23 in West Milford on July 7, 2015, when her vehicle was rear-ended by a New York City sanitation truck that was operated by Thomas Delgrosso. The impact caused Diamante's car to strike the rear of the vehicle in front of hers, said plaintiff lawyer Andrew Renda of Renda & Voynick in Cedar Grove.

Diamante, now 50, underwent four internal reduction, internal fixation surgeries after the accident to treat disc disruption and disc herniation of the cervical spine, which caused ongoing pain, said Renda. Some of the surgeries had to be performed a second time because the fusion failed, he said.

Diamante worked as a paralegal but was unable to continue working after the fourth surgery. She claimed a future wage loss of $976,000.

The settlement was reached on July 15, after two mediation sessions with former Superior Court Judge Eugene Codey, now with Connell Foley in Roseland.

Renda was assisted by his partner, John Voynick Jr.

The city and Delgrosso were represented by Andrew Turkish of Clausen Miller in Florham Park and Marc Pakrul of the City of New York Law Department.

Turkish confirmed the settlement, and said if the case had gone to trial, the plaintiff would face a challenge on causation and damages.

— Charles Toutant

$1.25M For Supermarket Fall

Diaz v. Shop Rite of Perth Amboy: A Perth Amboy woman has reached a $1.25 million settlement in her Middlesex County suit after she allegedly slipped on chicken-warmer grease that had gotten onto a Shop Rite floor in 2016, causing her to fall and suffer multiple injuries.

The woman, Laura Diaz, had sued both the Shop Rite supermarket and a cleaning services company used by the market in 2016, after the accident in which she fell into a self-service rotisserie chicken warmer that had been set up at the front of store, according to her lawyer, Nicholas Leonardis of Stathis & Leonardis in Edison.

Diaz, who did have some preexisiting lumbar back injuries before the May 2016 fall, ended up having disc herniation and lumbar fusion surgery after the Shop Rite incident, Leonardis said. She also injured a shoulder and tore an ACL in one of her knees, he said.

After ongoing litigation and discovery—including video footage from the Shop Rite that showed Diaz's fall—the personal injury suit was scheduled for trial in June in Middlesex County Superior Court, said Leonardis. But the case settled on June 5, during the jury-selection process.

Shop Rite agreed to pay $700,000; and GJL Building Cleaning Services, the company hired to clean the store, $550,000, according to Leonardis.

Judge Patrick Bradshaw had presided over the case since its start, Leonardis said.

Leonardis said there was "little pushback" by defendants Shop Rite and GJL Building Cleaning Services regarding liability, given the video evidence in the case. The core contested issue, he said, was how much of Diaz's medical problems and care should be attributed to the slip and fall at the Shop Rite, as opposed to problems and care necessary due to her preexisting health issues.

One of plaintiff's medical experts, he said, argued that the fall did not cause Diaz, now 37, to need the lumbar fusion surgery.

He pointed out that while she had had lumbar back problems before the accident, for instance, "no [doctors] had ever recommended surgery prior to her fall." He further noted that Diaz was a laborer, but that because of the injuries sustained, she is searching for a sedentary job.

Larry Citro Biancomano, a lawyer based in Edison, represented Shop Rite and could not be reached for comment. Jodi Mindnich, an attorney at Zirulnik, Sherlock & DeMille in Hamilton, was counsel to GJL Building Cleaning Services, and also could not be reached.

— Jason Grant

$1.2M Settlement With NJ Transit

Rodrigues-Marques v. NJ Transit: A Newark man struck by a NJ Transit bus settled his Essex County suit for $1.2 million, and the transit agency's board approved the settlement on July 17, days before a scheduled trial.

On March 19, 2016, plaintiff Jose Rodrigues-Marques, then 49 and a full-time auto body repair shop worker, made a trip to buy groceries in a local store in the Ironbound section of Newark where he resided. Rodrigues-Marques was in the midst of crossing Ferry Street as a pedestrian when one of the grocery bags in his hands broke, according to the police report.

He proceeded to pick up the items strewn on the street when he was struck by a NJ Transit bus being operated by defendant Courtney Morrison. Morrison admitted to police investigating the accident that he observed Rodrigues-Marques and began honking his horn, but didn't stop the bus, and struck Rodrigues-Marques.

Rodrigues-Marques was transported via ambulance to University Hospital and spent five days there, according to his attorney, Andrew Statmore of Fredson Statmore Bitterman in Bloomfield.

Dawn Atwood of Pashman Stein in the law firm's Hackensack office, represented Courtney Morrison and NJ Transit. Atwood didn't return a call.

Statmore said while at University Hospital, Rodrigues-Marques underwent a multitude of diagnostic testing, and as a result of a large laceration to his right knee, underwent arthrocentesis and arthrotomy. He also had physical and occupational therapy and was required to use a knee immobilizer.

A subsequent MRI showed a medial meniscal tear and joint effusion, and a labral tear and edema on the trochanteric of the right hip. Rodriques-Marques ultimately had arthroscopic knee surgery.

He also had spinal disc herniations and bulges, and received an epidural steroid injection at L5-S1, but post-epidural, he experienced an episode of unresponsiveness, requiring intubation, according to Statmore. Rodrigues-Marques was admitted to St. Mary's General Hospital for three days with a diagnosis of acute hypoxic respiratory failure, determined to have stemmed from an allergic reaction to the injection, said Statmore. He ultimately underwent discectomy for a disc herniation at L5-S1 at St. Mary's, and later, the implantation of a permanent spinal cord stimulator, Statmore said.

Statmore said his client, now 52 years old, was out of work for approximately 19 months and eventually returned to work, but at a different auto body shop, and only on light duty, for half the salary that he was making prior to the accident.

The matter settled at mediation with Eugene Codey, a retired Superior Court with Connell Foley in Roseland, on June 11.

"We're glad that we were able to get the client to gain some financial stability and see that justice was ultimately served," Statmore said in a phone call.

— Suzette Parmley