Type of action:
Negligence -- Forced Highway Collision

Injuries alleged:
Fractured vertebra; neck injury; right shoulder sprain; fractured teeth; abrasions

Amount of settlement:
$390,000

Other useful information:
The plaintiff was traveling north on Route I-395 in Connecticut returning to his home in Auburn. The operator of a tractor-trailer was apparently aggravated because he believed that the plaintiff's vehicle had cut in front of him. The tractor-trailer operator used his CB radio to call two other tractor trailer operators -- employed by the same employer -- who were also proceeding northbound on Route I-395, and the three trucks converged upon the plaintiff's vehicle. One of the three trucks then proceeded to go toward the right of the plaintiff's vehicle into the breakdown lane. In so doing, the truck struck the rear bumper of the plaintiff's vehicle causing it to leave the highway and roll over.

The plaintiff suffered a fracture of the first lumbar vertebra (without spinal cord or nerve root impingement), neck injury and a right shoulder sprain, two fractured teeth and multiple abrasions to his body and face. He avoided surgery and returned to work four months after the accident. The case settled a few days prior to trial for $390,000.