$3.0 Million Settlement for 86-Year-Old Woman in Auto Crash

A $3.0 million settlement was reached on November 30, 2022, in a Middlesex County suit, after a woman made a left turn in front of Plaintiff causing a head-on crash.

On July 6, 2020, Plaintiff Frances Palmieri, then age 83, was operating her vehicle westbound on Route 70, Township of Toms River, when Defendant Lenore Esposito made a sudden left-hand turn violently striking Mrs. Palmieri’s vehicle head-on. The police investigation found that Esposito’s failure to yield to Mrs. Palmieri’s right of way was a contributing circumstance. Esposito was issued a summons for careless driving.

After the car accident, Mrs. Palmieri was hospitalized at Jersey Shore Medical Center where she underwent several surgeries, including a multi-level cervical decompression and fusion as well as bilateral ankle open reduction internal fixation.

Mrs. Palmieri also suffered from a post-operative ileus which resulted in an ileostomy bag. During her hospitalization, Mrs. Palmieri was diagnosed with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia, a cancer of the blood and bone marrow. She underwent in-patient rehabilitation before being discharged.

The defense raised the issue that the ileostomy was reversible although the same information was contradicted by Mrs. Palmieri’s treating doctors.

The case was filed in Middlesex County Superior Court on January 5, 2021, by Stephanie Tolnai, Esq. of Clark Law Firm, P.C, captioned Palmieri v Esposito, MID-L-000085-21. The defendant was represented by Deborah J. Banfield, Esq. of Golden, Rothschild, Spagnola, Lundell, Boylan, Garubo & Bell, P.C. Bridgewater, NJ.

The case was settled by Stephanie Tolnai on November 30, 2022, for $3,000,000 by way of Mediation with Retired Judge Kenneth Grispin. Our client has endured a long recovery process and we are very happy we were able to successfully resolve this matter to help make her golden years just a little bit easier.

If you were injured in an automobile crash in Middlesex, Monmouth, Essex, Bergen, or Ocean County, contact Clark Law Firm today to discuss your personal injury case.  The automobile crash lawyers at Clark Law Firm are here to assist, fill out our consultation form here, call us at (877) 841-8855 or utilize or “Live Chat” feature on our site for immediate assistance.