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A woman who had 14 surgical procedures for injuries sustained in a head-on crash received a $1.49 million settlement in her Morris County suit, Van Orden v. Stampone, on Nov. 24, 2020.
Melissa Van Orden of Budd Lake, now 47, was driving on Route 206 in Andover on Dec. 22, 2019, when an oncoming car driven by Enrico Stampone of Totowa crossed the center line and struck her vehicle head-on.
Van Orden sustained multiple fractures to her right arm and both legs. She still faces the possible amputation of her right leg below the knee, depending on the outcome of circulatory problems, said her attorney, John Molinari of Blume, Forte, Fried, Zerres & Molinari in Chatham. She is able to walk using a walker but it causes her discomfort, Molinari said. Van Orden has been unable to return to her former job as a hospital nursing assistant and is looking into other careers that are less demanding physically, he said.
Stampone, now 27, was cited for careless driving, and the charge is still pending, said Molinari. It's unclear what caused him to cross the double yellow line, but the incident was the third time he was charged with careless driving, said Molinari.
Stampone was driving a vehicle that was registered to his parents, Antonio and Emilia Stampone, and Molinari named all three Stampones as defendants. The elder Stampones had a $500,000 automobile policy and a $1 million umbrella liability policy with Travelers. The payment of $1,490,123 represents the entire policy proceeds after the earlier payment of a claim to Van Orden for vehicle damage, Molinari said.
The defendants did not dispute liability, and the case was settled on Nov.13.
The defendants were represented by Michael Mourtzanakis of the Law Office of James Rohlfing in Morristown. Mourtzanakis didn't respond to a reporter's call about the case.
— Charles Toutant
$465K in Rear-End Suit
Savoye v. Drillman: A motorist who sustained spinal injuries when she was struck from behind by another vehicle was paid a $465,000 settlement in her Ocean County suit last July 14.According to counsel and court documents, on Feb. 22, 2017, plaintiff Shelley Savoye was a passenger in a vehicle travelling on Madison Avenue in Lakewood. When a vehicle in front made a somewhat abrupt turn into a commercial parking lot on the right and the Savoye vehicle slowed, it was struck from behind by a third vehicle driven by Ephraim Drillman, according to Savoye's lawyer, Geoffrey Arlen of the Arlen Law Firm in Hillsborough.
Savoye, currently 50, claimed injuries to her neck and back, and aggravation of a prior knee injury. Savoye ceased working in her sales job after the accident and underwent a cervical fusion procedure, Arlen said, noting that Savoye still experiences some pain radiating into her arms.
Defense papers indicated that Drillman challenged liability.
According to Arlen, the defense contended that the unidentified vehicle in front of the Savoye vehicle was at least partially to blame for the crash, and challenged causation, maintaining that Savoye's cervical injury resulted from a preexisting condition.
Savoye maintained that the phantom vehicle shouldn't be assigned any liability, and the case amounted to a routine rear-end accident case, Arlen noted.
The parties settled during discovery on May 14, 2020, and a stipulation of dismissal was filed that date, court records noted. Arlen said the settlement sum—$465,000 of a $500,000 policy, paid by Drillman's carrier, Amica Mutual Insurance—was paid on July 14, 2020.
Alexander Stockdale of Ruprecht Hart Ricciardulli & Sherman in Westfield, counsel to Drillman, couldn't be reached by phone or email.
— David Gialanella
David Gialanella
David Gialanella, Editor-in-Chief, Business of Law and The American Lawyer, has been with ALM since 2010 in various roles. He previously managed the New Jersey Law Journal and oversaw all of ALM's regional brands. Reach him at [email protected].