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Jury awards Silver Spring crash victim more than $1.5M
A Silver Spring woman has been awarded more than $1.5 million after she was involved in a violent car crash near a busy Prince George’s County intersection.
Lola Ferguson’s judgment includes $1.5 million in non-economic damages that will be lowered to $695,000, the state cap at the time of the Sept. 27, 2008 accident. The jury also awarded $25,000 to cover past medical expenses.
Ferguson was driving a compact sedan south on New Hampshire Avenue just past East-West Highway when she was struck by a sport vehicle driven by Roderick Jones, according to the complaint filed in July 2009. Jones was attempting to make a left turn from the highway onto southbound New Hampshire.
The impact of the crash caused Ferguson’s car to spin and then get rear-ended by another car before crashing into a guardrail, said her lawyer, Kevin J. Finnegan. The car that rear-ended Ferguson was totaled in the accident, he added.
Neither alcohol nor drugs played a role in the crash, said Finnegan, of Goldberg, Finnegan & Mester LLC in Silver Spring. Ferguson suffered a concussion in the crash and injuries to her back, left hip and left shoulder, he said. She also has permanent damage to her neck and left arm and receives spinal injections for pain, Finnegan said.
Ferguson testified to the extent of her injuries during the two-day trial in Prince George’s County Circuit Court before Judge Toni E. Clarke. The jury of three men and three women deliberated for an hour before returning with a verdict, Finnegan said.
Ferguson “was happy that the case was finally resolved by a jury and is looking forward to using some of the money to continue her treatment,” Finnegan said.
Alexander Williams III, a lawyer with State Farm insurance through The Law Offices of Timothy S. Smith & Associates in Greenbelt, did not return phone calls seeking comment.
Defense motions for a new trial and remittitur are pending, Finnegan said.
FERGUSON V. JONES
Court:
Prince George’s County Circuit
Case No.:
CAL09-23033
Proceeding:
Jury trial
Judge:
Toni E. Clarke
Outcome:
Plaintiff
Award:
$1,525,000
Dates:
Incident: Sept. 27, 2008
Suit filed: July 30, 2009
Disposition: Nov. 23, 2010
Plaintiff’s Attorney:
Kevin J. Finnegan of Goldberg, Finnegan & Mester LLC in Silver Spring
Defense Attorney:
Alexander Williams III of The Law Offices of Timothy S. Smith & Associates in Greenbelt
Count:
Negligence
