Essam Eliraky v. Arthur Staloff and Alpine Refrigeration

Essam Eliraky v. Arthur Staloff and Alpine Refrigeration

NECK FUSION, BACK INJURIES

Delivery-car driver

Middlesex County, NJ

The parties settled for $1.1 million, prior to jury selection.

$1,100,000

On Nov. 12, 2012, plaintiff Essam Eliraky, a livery-car driver in his late 40s, was working when he was rear-ended in slowing traffic by a pickup truck on Easton Avenue, in New Brunswick. He claimed an aggravation of neck and back injuries.

Eliraky sued the driver, Arthur Staloff, and his employer, Alpine Refrigeration, alleging that Staloff was negligent in the operation of a vehicle.

Staloff said that the brake had failed. The responding officer discovered brake fluid underneath Staloff’s truck.

Eliraky’s automotive expert inspected Staloff’s truck and reviewed photographs of the brake lines (the brake lines were changed post-accident). He said, based on the investigation, Staloff’s testimony, and the observation of brake fluid, the truck was not properly maintained, and the brake lines were not inspected, cleaned, and kept up to date; as a result, the brakes had corroded and failed.

Staloff’s automotive expert, who analyzed the same evidence as Eliraky’s expert, determined that the brake failure was a spontaneous, unforeseeable occurrence, and not the result of any alleged improper maintenance.