Tashi Vaish obtained a unanimous defense verdict on October 7, 2024, before Judge Richard Velasquez in the Supreme Court Kings County.  Attendieu Mercilien v. Benson Amilcar et al., Index Number 519899/2018.

This matter arose out a two-car collision that took place on March 19, 2017, in Brooklyn, New York.  The plaintiff was a passenger in the co-defendant’s vehicle.  The defense conceded liability, and the matter was tried solely on damages.  The plaintiff, Attendieu Norcilien, a preacher from Florida, claimed that he sustained disc herniations in cervical and lumbar spine.  He underwent several months of orthopedic and chiropractic treatment.  The plaintiff had a prior motor vehicle accident in 2011 where he allegedly injured his lower back.  Tashi successfully argued that impact was too light to have caused the disc herniations, rather these herniations were pre-existing and degenerative in nature.   The jury deliberated for two and a half hours and found that the plaintiff did not sustain a “serious injury” under Insurance Law 5102(d).