A New York City Sergeant assigned to a Queens North command was rear-ended by a private motorist while sitting in his RMP during a car stop. Although there was limited damage to the RMP, the sergeant suffered a serious injury to his left shoulder which necessitated surgery. The Sergeant retained DCD who hired a bio-mechanical expert from South Dakota in order to demonstrate that the limited impact could have caused the Sergeant’s shoulder injury. The bio-mechanical expert examined the damage to the RMP, the position of the Sergeant in the car and damage of the private motorist’s vehicle. After examining all of the evidence the expert concluded that the impact could have caused the tear of the ligament in the Sergeant’s shoulder.

GEICO, the insurance company for the defendant motorist filed a motion for summary judgment claiming the Sergeant’s lawsuit against their insured was barred by the Firefighter’s rule and that tailgating in violation of vehicle and Traffic Law §1129 was not a statutory predicate to GML §205-e. Joseph L. Decolator of DCD countered and filed a cross-motion alleging that the Sergeant was entitled to summary judgment in that his vehicle was rear-ended and there remained no genuine issue of fact for the Court to decide.

GEICO’s strategy backfired and a Queens County Supreme Court justice ruled against the insurance company and in favor of the injured Sergeant. Summary judgment was granted and 9% interest started accruing when DCD filed the judgment in Court.

At a pre-trial mediation, attorneys for GEICO offered $100,000 to settle the case. DCD rejected the offer and prepared the case for trial. Shortly prior to the trial date, the insurance carrier for the defendant called DCD and settled the case for $600,000.