Automobile and Trucking Cases:

Unfortunately, automobile and trucking accidents happen frequently and often with catastrophic results. Automobile collisions are the number one cause of death and serious injuries to teenagers and young adults.

Our use of automobiles and other vehicles on public streets and highways is governed and controlled by the "rules of the road." These laws regulate our speed and our operation of our vehicles in all types of driving situations, such as school zones, highway work zones, on highways and at intersections. Of course, it is illegal to operate a motor vehicle while under the influence of an impairing substance. Violations of the rules of the road are acts of negligence.

The following are examples of automobile and trucking cases the firm has handled:

Jeff Peraldo represented the estates of two elderly persons who were killed when their vehicle was struck by an impaired driver. The firm's case investigation and a retained toxicologist established that the impaired driver had been grossly "overserved" by a local bar in violation of alcohol control laws. The bar denied any liability and litigation was necessary. The cases eventually settled at mediation for confidential sums.

Jeff Peraldo represented a woman who sustained serious injuries when her vehicle was struck by an impaired driver who had crossed the centerline. The driver denied being impaired and further denied liability for the collision and the client's injuries. Litigation was necessary and appropriate investigation and discovery were undertaken, which established the driver's impairment and responsibility for the client's injuries. On the eve of trial, the case settled for a confidential amount.

Jeff Peraldo represented a woman and her son whose vehicle had been struck and run off of the road by a hit and run driver. The clients' vehicle went out of control and rolled several times. The mother sustained severe hand and arm injuries and the son sustained injuries to his lower extremities. The clients' own insurance company refused to provide insurance coverage for the clients' injuries and litigation against the insurance company was necessary. After extensive case investigation established both the liability of the hit and run driver and insurance coverage, the mother's case was settled for insurance policy limits of $500,000. The son's case could not be settled and further litigation and arbitration were necessary. After an exhaustive arbitration hearing with full testimony and medical evidence, the arbitration panel awarded the son damages in the amount of $117,000.

Jeff Peraldo represented a young boy, a visitor to his grandfather's farm, who had been struck by a vehicle being operated by a contractor's employee on farm property. The child sustained severe leg injuries. Liability was denied by the responsible insurance company based on a claim that the child had "darted" into the path of the workers' vehicle, thus making litigation and extensive discovery necessary. The firm's case investigation identified several witnesses who testified that the child had not run into the path of the defendant's vehicle as the defendant had claimed and the case was settled at mediation for $280,000.

Jeff Peraldo represented two passengers in a vehicle that was struck and sideswiped on the highway by an impaired driver. The passengers sustained severe injuries when their vehicle was forced head-on into a guardrail . The cases were settled for insurance policy limits of $100,000 each.

Jeff Peraldo represented a young girl who sustained facial lacerations when the vehicle in which she was riding as a passenger was struck at an intersection by another vehicle that had run a red light. The at-fault driver initially denied responsibility for the collision and litigation was necessary. The case eventually settled at mediation for $156,000.

Jeff Peraldo represented a woman who suffered a neck injury as a result of a rear-end collision and needed surgery to fuse a disk in her neck. Because the woman had a history of degenerative disk disease, the insurance company for the at-fault driver contended that the collision was not the cause of her post-accident pain and other physical problems. However, despite her diagnosis of degenerative disk disease, the woman was not experiencing any pain, discomfort or loss of range of motion in her neck at the time of the collision. The case settled at mediation for $120,000.

To see other automobile and trucking cases the firm has handled, please visit our Case Results page.

« Back to Practice Areas