COLUMBIA, Md. (Vocus/PRWEB) January 20, 2011 — Plaxen & Adler, Maryland personal injury attorneys, recently secured a jury verdict of $3,091,291.67 for a 45 year-old Prince Frederick woman who was badly injured in a 2008 automobile collision in Calvert County, Maryland.
The case, Kent v. Lee (CAL09-14010), was tried in the Circuit Court for Prince George’s County, Maryland. It stemmed from an accident that occurred in 2008 when an off-duty Prince George’s County police officer crossed a double-yellow line in his undercover vehicle and collided head-on with the vehicle driven by the plaintiff.
“Our client suffered severe and permanent injuries, explained Bruce Plaxen, founding partner of the Columbia-based law firm Plaxen & Adler. “Both of her knees required surgery, she had dislocations and fractures in her right foot, her left hip was fractured, she had multiple pelvic fractures, and a number of additional traumatic injuries. She spent three months in the hospital, and another two months in a wheelchair. She is now able to walk only with the assistance of a cane and, sadly, will never recover from these injuries.”
According to Plaxen, Prince George’s County only insured the vehicle for the state statutory minimum of $20,000 (the minimums have recently been increased to $30,000) and the only other insurance proceeds available to the plaintiff were her own underinsured motorist coverage. Plaxen confirmed that the $3.1 million jury verdict will be reduced by the applicable statutory cap to $2,051,291.67.
“As a matter of public policy, Prince George’s County should have better coverage on their vehicles,” said Plaxen, a highly regarded Maryland injury attorney who was honored as the 2008 Maryland Trial Lawyer of the Year by the non-profit Maryland Association for Justice. “Police officers in particular spend a great deal of time driving their vehicles and are allowed to use them for personal errands. It is regrettable that they can cause catastrophic injuries to another person, leaving the injured person no way to pay for their medical expenses.”
Source: Plaxen & Adler