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Verdict/Settlement: This case was settled for $150,000.00 which was comprised of the following: $125,000.00 for the mi- nor Plaintiff, $25,000.00 for the parents’ claim for medical and other related ex- penses.


Insurance Company: The Hartford In- surance Company


Special Remarks: Documents obtained through discovery revealed that the De- fendants adopted a standard that the water temperature should have been maintained at 120° F. In addition, discovery docu- ments also revealed that one of the Defendants’ employees, who checked the heater immediately after the injury was reported to the Defendants, saw that the temperature on the water heater had been set at 150° F. It is interesting to note that neither Prince George’s County nor the State of Maryland have set standards for water temperature. However, as stated previously, the Defendants in this case adopted their own standard and then vio- lated it.


Plaintiff ’s Counsel: Burt M. Kahn (MTLA member) and Steven B. Vinick (MTLA member) 6404 Ivy Lane, Suite 400, Greenbelt, MD 20770


Defense Counsel: Mark Palmer, 4640 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 300, Lanham, MD 20706


________


Sydney Wright v. Petsmart, Inc. a/k/a Petstuff, Inc. Circuit Court for Baltimore County No: 03-C-98-007857


Facts: On August 13, 1995 Plaintiff went to Defendant’s store to buy a bag of dog biscuits. After paying for her purchase, the Plaintiff started to leave the store when she slipped in an unmarked puddle of urine. As she fell, her head hit a metal column next to the check out counter and she lost consciousness, briefly. The De- fendant had notice of the condition but failed to clean it up. The Defendant did not mark the puddle with a sign. Rather, the sales clerk testified that he pointed the puddle out to the Plaintiff and told her to be careful.


Allegations of Liability: It is the Defendant’s responsibility to maintain premises in a safe and non-hazardous con- dition. Defendant failed train properly


Winter 2001


and instill the importance of this to all of their employees. The Defendant also has a duty to warn its customers of hazardous or dangerous conditions on its premises which are created by pets that they allow into their store.


Injuries/Damages: Soft tissue neck and back injuries, headaches, light sensitivity, loss of energy, depression and numbing of the fingers and arm. Medical damages totaled $18,000.


Plaintiff ’s Expert: David Buchholtz (Neu- rology)


Verdict/Settlement: Settlement: $50,000


Insurance Company: Chubb Group of Insurance Companies


Plaintiff ’s Counsel: Kathryn Miller Goldman (MTLA member) and Jonathan Monheit, Astrachan, Gunst, Goldman & Thomas, PC.


Defense Counsel: Jeffrey R. Schmieler, Saunders and Schmieler.


Vechicular Negligence


Anonymous v. Anonymous Trucking Company Superior Court of the District of Columbia


Facts: Defendant’s 17,000 pound trac- tor without a trailer was exceeding the posted speed limit and, when using his defective brakes, was caused to veer di- rectly into plaintiff’s vehicle, crushing it against a tree. It was alleged that the driver was exceeding the speed limit, following too closely, improperly driving a tractor which does not have a trailer attached and that Anonymous Trucking Company had allowed the brakes to become dangerously defective as a result of failure to properly maintain.


Injuries/Damages: Plaintiff driver sus- tained blunt head trauma, collapsed lung, ruptured spleen, ruptured superior thy- roid artery, retroperitoneal hematoma, tracheal and laryngeal fracture and stroke due to dissected carotid artery. The stroke, combined with a sheering injury to the brain, combined to result in significant brain injury. Plaintiff sustained moder- ate cognitive communication problems, poor short-term memory, poor mental flexibility, poor reasoning and judgment, poor divided attention, and poor organi- zational skills. Ultimately, her brain injury


Trial Reporter


was felt to be caused by severe injury to the limbic system resulting in profound disregulation, including loss of sexuality and sexual drive, loss of taste, loss of smell and overwhelming emotional instability. Plaintiff, after two attempts, was ad- judged unable to return to work and permanently disabled. Her medical ex- penses past and future were in excess of $412,000. Her economic loss, reduced to present value, was $745,000. Plaintiff’s husband had a claim for loss of consor- tium, and plaintiff’s minor daughter, who was in the vehicle at the time of the acci- dent, sustained severe facial scars. Her medical expenses past and future, ex- ceeded $66,000.


Plaintiff Experts: Paul Fedio, Ph.D. (Neuro Psychologist) Rockville, MD, Jerome Paige, Ph.D. (Economist) Wash- ington, D.C., Robert Wilson (Mechanical Engineer) Annapolis, MD, Gregory Man- ning (Accident Reconstructionist) Edgewater, MD, Ronald E. Tomasetti (Commercial Driving Expert) Annapolis, MD.


Verdict/Settlement: Settled $5,000,000


Plaintiff ’s Counsel: Burt M. Kahn (MTLA member) Joseph, Greenwald & Laake, Greenbelt, MD and Eric F. Rosenberg, Riverdale, MD.


Defense Counsel: Jeffrey DeCaro ________


Rosalyn Chazen, et. vir. v. Jean Raymond Cohen Circuit Court for Baltimore City No. 24-C-99-003063


Facts: Plaintiff was stopped at the “T-in- tersection” on Hunt Drive at Greenspring Avenue. Defendant’s vehicle, which was heading south on Greenspring, swerved across the center line and onto Hunt Drive.


It struck the front right side of


Plaintiff ’s stationary vehicle and sent it spinning onto the curb and into a bank of bushes.


Allegations of Liability: Defendant had a duty of care to operate her vehicle in a prudent and safe fashion and breached this duty of care by: (1) failing to operate her vehicle in a safe and prudent manner; (2) failing to keep a proper lookout; (3) failing to stay in her lane of traffic; and (4) failing to have her vehicle under rea-


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