On November 30, 2017, an arbitrator awarded the plaintiff in the case of
Page v. CNA Insurance $797,400 for
injuries he suffered after he was
rear-ended while driving his employer’s vehicle.

Dion Page sued his employer’s insurance company, Valley Forge Insurance
Co., an affiliate of CNA Insurance Co., to recover underinsured motorist
benefits. According to Page’s arbitration memo, Page was in his
employer’s vehicle that had stopped on a road in Bucks County. Although
the vehicle that Page was in had its hazard lights on, a vehicle driven
by Daniel McCulloch rear-ended Page’s vehicle, which caused disabling
injuries to Page’s neck and knee.

According to Page, McCulloch told him he was texting, which is why he had
not seen Page’s vehicle right before the
accident.

McCulloch’s insurance policy had a $50,000 liability coverage limit,
which was tendered by the insurer. CNA had provided a $1 million liability
limit for Page’s employer, so he sought underinsurance coverage.

Page’s memo says that because of the accident, he suffered injuries
to several discs in his neck, knee and shoulder sprains, a rotator cuff
tear, and aggravated a cervical degenerative disc disease. Page had to
go through a cervical discectomy with fusion, which was followed up with
physical therapy. He then had to undergo a hemi-laminectomy and a complete
facetectomy.

Page was 43 at the time of the accident and worked as a laborer. He was
unable to return to work after the accident and was later deemed to be
disabled by the Social Security Administration. Since he was stopped in
a no-parking zone at the time of the accident, Page’s dispute with
CNA focused on economic damages and comparative negligence.

Page’s vocational rehabilitation expert, Jasen Walker, argued that
Page had an earning capacity ranging from $28,000 to $38,000. Walker also
claimed that Page sustained a net economic loss of more than $670,000.

However, CNA’s attorney disputed the claims made by Walker, saying
“He had never made a whole lot of money in the first place…
the future wage loss claim was predicated on numbers that were not reflected
on the plaintiff’s tax returns.”

Ultimately, arbitrator Joseph F. Ricchiuti awarded Page $797,000. The award
amount was later modified to $747,400 in order to account for the prior
$50,000 insurance settlement.

Speaking about the victory, Page’s attorney James Haggerty, of Haggerty,
Goldberg, Schleifer & Kupersmith, said that “the arbitrator
did a good job in evaluating the claims and making a fair award, which
compensated the plaintiff for his injuries.” However, Mr. Haggerty
suggested that he is also considering a bad faith action since the defendant
did not make any offers until very late in the litigation.

Have you been in an accident that resulted in severe injuries? Contact our Philadelphia team of personal injury attorneys
to set up a free consultation today.