Rear-End Crash on George Washington Bridge Nets $1 Million Settlement

A $1 million settlement has been reached for a Middletown resident injured in an accident on the George Washington Bridge when a commercial truck struck him from behind, leaving him with damage to his cervical spine, among other injuries.

Marco Faria, 49, was driving on the upper level of the GWB on Feb. 10, 2021, when a commercial box truck, driven by Milton Jerez for Anthony Logistics of Hudson County and 2SH Services, rear-ended him. The lawsuit, Faria v. Jerez, filed Nov. 18, 2022, in Bergen County Superior Court, alleged that the crash forced Faria to collide with a concrete wall, causing injuries to his shoulder and back, according to the complaint.

According to Faria’s counsel, Robert J. Banas and Barry R. Eichen of Eichen Crutchlow Zaslow, he was no longer able to work in his previous capacity as a bakery manager and his lost past and future wages totaled $1.2 million.

“I am glad that we could achieve this great result for a client that was truly in need of help. This would not have been possible without the incredible guidance and leadership of Barry Eichen,” Banas said.

Faria sustained injuries to his shoulder, including an impingement and a partial thickness tear of the rotator cuff to his right shoulder. He was treated by Dr. Marshall Allegra, who performed an arthroscopy and extensive debridement. Faria also suffered a herniated disc in his cervical spine at C6/7, which required a discectomy and fusion by Dr. Joshua Landa. He also had an electromyogram of the cervical spine, which showed radiculopathy of the spine at C5/6 and C6/7, which required a cervical epidural steroid injection before surgery.

Both Landa and Allegra served as expert witnesses along with Ken Betz of Sobel Tinari Economics, according to Banas.

The defendants were represented by John J. Pietrunti of the Donohue Law Firm, who did not immediately return a request for comment.

The defense answered the complaint by denying that Jerez, Anthony Logistics and 2SH were negligent and said that Faria’s injuries resulted from his own negligence. Bergen County Superior Court Judge David V. Nasta ordered the defendant’s answers stricken and defenses suppressed without prejudice for failure to provide discovery, according to court documents.

Faria moved for a default judgment and then for a proof hearing, which was scheduled for Feb. 22, 2024. However, Banas said the defendants offered the total policy limits of $1 million before that hearing took place. The case was settled on Feb. 12, for the entire coverage amount of $1 million, divided between property damage of $15,360 and $984,639 for pain, suffering, lost wages, loss of consortium, and medical bills.

The settlement was reached after an offer of judgment seeking the entire limits of the insurance policy, issued by National Continental Insurance Co., which was filed along with a letter submitted under Rova Farms Resort v. Investors Insurance Co. of America. Such a letter informs the carrier that if it does not settle within the policy limits, the insured will look to that carrier to pay the entire judgment.