David Gould obtained a unanimous defense verdict in the Supreme Court, Nassau County, before Judge Catherine Rizzo in the Alexandra Jacques v. Thomas Joseph Oliveri and Stephen J. Oliveri case, Index Number 608950-20.  The plaintiff, a 52-year old nurses aide at Northwell Hospital, was the driver of an SUV that was stopped in traffic on the Southern State Parkway in Nassau County when the defendant, Thomas Joseph Oliveri who was 17-years old at the time of the accident, made contact with the rear of her vehicle.  The case was tried solely on damages regarding whether the plaintiff sustained a “serious injury”.   The plaintiff underwent a right knee and right shoulder arthroscopy within four months of the accident.   One of the plaintiff’s orthopedic medical experts testified that in his opinion that she will require future cervical and spinal fusion surgeries at a cost of $150,000.00 each.  Mr. Gould argued that the impact was merely a minor fender bender and thus it was not the proximate cause of her past surgeries as well as any surgeries that might occur in the future. 

The plaintiff’s attorney asked the jury to award his client $1,760,000.00 for pain and suffering which was inclusive of the cost of two future spinal fusion surgeries.  The jury deliberated in under one hour and rendered a unanimous defense verdict finding that the plaintiff did not sustain a “significant limitation of a body, function or system” or a “permanent consequential limitation of use of a body organ or member.”  

A special thanks goes out to our clients the Oliveris, shown in this photo, who were present and supportive throughout the course of the trial that lasted nearly two weeks.   A shoutout also goes out to associate Svitlana Astakhova for her research and reporting on this case as well as paralegal Peter Gomes for putting the 1,314 page trial binders together.