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VERDICTS & SETTLEMENTS JULY 20, 2020 ¦ 27

Then, Rosnick said, there was As Goncalves proceeded to
the plaintiff herself. Goncalves, slow down for oncoming traffic,
he said, was an immigrant from the defendant’s Jeep, the lawsuit
Brazil “who was a pleasant and said, “suddenly and unexpect-
humble woman. I told her story The injuries were many edly collided” into the back of the

on her behalf. She was a very to Goncalves and her Goncalves vehicle.

good witness.” passenger—her 9-year-old Proskinitopoulos was issued
Goncalves’ story of how she a police infraction for following
struggled with her injuries and daughter—according to too closely.
fought her way back appeared to Goncalves, her attorney said,
bolster her claim. Mediator, re- the October 2018 lawsuit
tired Judge Robert Holzberg of filed in Bridgeport Superior incurred more than $250,000 in
medical expenses.
Court.

Pullman & Comley, oversaw the Rosnick said he sought the ini-
$687,500 settlement. tial $1 million insurance policy
The injuries were many to from the insurance carrier, The
Goncalves and her passenger— Hartford. The defense’s first offer,
her 9-year-old daughter—according to the October Rosnick said, was for about $325,000.
2018 lawsuit filed in Bridgeport Superior Court. Representing the defendant was Pamela LeBlanc
While Goncalves has surgery to her lower back, of the Law Offices of David J. Mathis in Hartford.
she also, the lawsuit said, suffered from neck pain; LeBlanc declined to comment for this report.
reduced range of motion of her cervical spine; pain, In court pleadings, the defense admitted liabil-
numbness and tingling in both legs and right shoul- ity, acknowledging the defendant failed to keep a
der; muscle spasms; headaches; and bruises, sprains proper lookout. As to the extent of the Goncalves’
and contusions of her body and limbs. injuries, the defense said the plaintiffs would have
Her daughter, who was not as injured, had minor to prove their case.
soft-tissue injury, Rosnick said. ¦

Proskinitopoulos, who was driving a Jeep Wran- Robert Storace covers legal trends, lawsuits and
gler, was behind the plaintiff ’s vehicle heading west analysis for the Connecticut Law Tribune. Follow
on Tunxis Hill Cutoff, a public highway in Fairfield, him on Twitter @RobertSCTLaw or reach him at
according to the lawsuit. 203-437-5950.

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