Attorney Dave Schmid attains $1.2M Verdict

On June 9, 2014, Kelley Mahan was a passenger in a vehicle involved in a three-car, chain reaction type rear-end collision. The lead car stopped in the right lane of Hooper Avenue in Toms River, New Jersey. The second car crashed into the rear of the first car. The third car (in which Kelley was a passenger) then crashed into the rear of the second car. As a result of the collision, the passenger side air bag deployed at the moment Kelley was reaching out to brace for the impact.

Kelley suffered severe injuries to her left arm and right wrist. She underwent an initial open reduction internal fixation surgery to repair the broken left arm. She underwent a second surgery to remove some of the surgical hardware from the left arm. She was left with permanent nerve damage and a deformity in her left arm (her elbow will remain slightly bent for the rest of her life). She suffered permanent loss of motion and loss of grip strength in her left arm and hand. She has multiple tiny bone fragments loose in her left elbow that could not be restored to their natural anatomical position. Consequently, she will experience the early onset of arthritis in her left elbow that will get progressively worse as she ages.

The case was tried before Judge Mark Troncone in Ocean County, New Jersey – a traditionally conservative venue producing very few large verdicts. After a three day trial, the jury returned a verdict of $1.2 million in compensatory damages for Ms. Mahan.