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Motorcyclist accepts $600K settlement from other driver
Laurel PD officer’s leg ‘smashed to pieces’ in collision, lawyer says
Listen to this articleA Mt. Airy man has reached a $600,000 settlement in a lawsuit over a motorcycle accident that caused him to miss more than a year of work.
Robert Allen Reed’s case against Cathy Ann Scoppa was settled Friday, three days before the trial was scheduled to begin in Carroll County Circuit Court.
Reed was injured on the evening of June 13, 2012 as he rode his motorcycle westbound on Prospect Road near Rising Ridge Road in Carroll County, according to the lawsuit, filed in March.
Scoppa, who had been attending her son’s baseball game, was attempting to cross Prospect onto Rising Ridge when she struck Reed, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit alleges Reed was knocked to the ground by the collision, and that Scoppa ran over his right leg before stopping.
“She just didn’t see him,” said Mark E. Rosasco, one of Reed’s lawyers.
Scoppa, in a deposition, testified she got out of her Toyota Highlander when she heard a “thump” on her car and then saw Reed on the ground, according to Rosasco.
Reed broke both the tibia and fibia in his right leg in the accident, said Rosasco, of Hyatt & Weber P.A. in Annapolis.
“The bones were just smashed to pieces,” he said.
Reed had a rod placed in his leg but the injury didn’t heal properly and he later needed a bone graft, Rosasco said. Reed, an officer with the Laurel Police Department, missed 62 weeks of work recovering from his injuries and still has pain in his leg, Rosasco said.
Reed’s past medical bills totaled $52,000 and lost wages totaled $110,000, according to Rosasco.
Thomas H. Talbott, Scoppa’s lawyer, offered $200,000 to settle the case several months ago, Rosasco said. Late last week, the offer was increased to $450,000 before it went to $600,000, according to Rosasco.
The parties also had two mediation sessions in circuit court, Rosasco added.
Talbott, of Sullivan, Talbott & Batt in Rockville, did not return a call seeking comment.
ROBERT ALLEN REED, ET AL., V. CATHY ANN SCOPPA, ET AL.
Court:
Carroll County Circuit Court
Case No.:
06C14066148
Outcome:
Settlement for plaintiff for $600,000
Dates:
Event: June 13, 2003
Suit filed: March 31, 2014
Settlement: Jan. 30, 2015
Plaintiffs’ Attorneys:
Mark E. Rosasco of Hyatt & Weber P.A. in Annapolis and Alex Poberesky, Pikesville solo practitioner
Defendants’ Attorney:
Thomas H. Talbott of Sullivan, Talbott & Batt in Rockville
Counts:
Negligence, loss of consortium
