Significant Settlement for Car Accident Injuries

The firm secured a significant settlement for a woman who was injured in a car accident. She was left scrambling to find an attorney after another lawyer rejected her case a few weeks before the statute of limitations expired citing an election that she chose in her own auto insurance policy – the limitation on lawsuit option – an option many New Jersey residents select without even realizing it. Plaintiff’s primary injury was a fractured sternum. Even though the defendant was 100% at fault, the insurance company for the defendant had a no-pay position citing the limitation on lawsuit option as well. After carefully analyzing plaintiff’s documents and medical records, the firm noted that the radiologist who read the x-ray views of the sternum described the fracture to be “offset.” The firm tracked down the radiologist who confirmed that his use of the term “offset” was synonymous with “displaced.” Although both terms indicate there is a disruption of the anatomical alignment of a bone, the distinction is an important one because only a “displaced fracture” is an exemption to the limitation on lawsuit election pursuant to N.J.S.A. 39:6A-8. After filing a lawsuit and having the radiologist confirm that “offset” in his report had the same meaning as “displaced,” the firm was successful in negotiating a significant settlement award for the client.