Attorneys recently reached a $750,000 settlement in a Passaic County case over an auto accident that left a Yorktown Heights, New York, woman with permanent injuries after she was rear-ended in stopped traffic along Interstate 80 in Saddle Brook. The case of Marino v. MacGlaughlin settled on Nov. 24, 2020.

Insurance carrier Farmers Mutual Ins. Co. covered the entire settlement, noted Jeffrey Zenna of Blume Forte Fried Zerres and Molinari in Chatham , who represented the plaintiff.

“The settlement was fair, as plaintiff was fairly compensated for injuries, which reduced her stress of being in an accident and missing time from work,” Zenna said in a phone call.

Tricia E. Habert of Turner O’Mara Donnelly and Petrycki in Cherry Hill represented the defendants: William MacGlaughlin and his employer, Syncro Courier Systems, a licensed and bonded freight shipping and trucking company headquartered in Brooklawn. Habert did not return a call and email for comment.

According to the police report, Marino, then 50, was traveling westbound on Interstate 80 in Saddle Brook on Aug. 16, 2017, in a black 2017 Chevrolet Impala when she was stopped in traffic. MacGlaughlin, of Audobon and age 21 at the time, was in a white 2017 Ford Econoline truck and also traveling westbound, when he failed to notice that Marino had stopped and rear-ended her. MacGlaughlin was making a delivery at the time for Syncro, said Zenna.

In the police report, MacGlaughlin claimed that he has driving in the right lane off the exit “when someone cut him off” and he was forced to  suddenly switch to the left lane and could not avoid hitting Marino’s Impala.

Zenna said Marino, who filed the complaint on July 10, 2019, has undergone facet injection and medial branch nerve block to treat her injuries.

She “is doing better post-accident,” said Zenna. “She still has some residual hip pain stemming from a right hip labral tear. Her injuries are permanent.”

— Suzette Parmley

$350K in Morris Pedestrian Case