A $950,000 settlement was reached in Monmouth County lawsuit Cannon v. Hammer on Aug. 31 for a 61-year-old woman injured when she was rear-ended in traffic. The timing of her treatment, during the COVID-19 pandemic, was at issue in the case.

On Nov. 19, 2020, Lauren Cannon was stopped in traffic on Route 9 in Howell when she was rear-ended by defendant Michael Hammer. As a result of the crash, Cannon was pushed into the vehicle in front of her. The crash caused minimal damage to Cannon’s vehicle, and she didn’t go to the hospital at the time, said her lawyer, Raymond A. Gill Jr. of Gill & Chamas in Woodbridge.