$975,000 for Auto Accident Garbage Truck

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Locola-Cordero v. Figueroa: A Hawthorne woman and her son were paid $975,000 on Nov. 2 as compensation for injuries they received when their car was struck by a garbage truck.

Plaintiff Pam Locola-Cordero and ARI Insurance Co.—the carrier for defendants Jose Figueroa and his employer, Gaeta Recycling of Paterson—agreed to the settlement on Oct. 4, said the plaintiffs’ attorney, Edward Capozzi.

Locola-Cordero, now 46, and her 10-year-old son, Christian, were injured on Jan. 4, 2017, as they were traveling south on Lincoln Avenue near Rock Road in Ridgewood, said Capozzi, of Brach Eichler Injury Lawyers in Roseland.

The garbage truck, driven by Figueroa, made a sudden left turn into Locola-Cordero’s car, Capozzi said.
As a result of the accident, Locola-Cordero claimed she sustained disc herniations that required epidural injections, a discogram, arthroscopic surgery and cervical fusion. The child sustained minor injuries, Capozzi said.

The mother received $970,100, while the son received $4,900, Capozzi said.

ARI retained Joseph McGlone, of Morristown’s McElroy, Deutsch, Mulvaney & Carpenter. He did not return a call.

The lawsuit, venued in Bergen County, had not been assigned a trial date.