Dennis Donnelly obtained a $19.1 million total verdict in January of 2025 from an Essex County jury for a woman who was falsely arrested for DUI after she suffered a stroke while driving.
The suit against the State of New Jersey and a State Trooper alleged that the 48-year-old Plaintiff was on her way to work on the morning of October 17, 2017, when she began to feel the effects of a severe stroke and pulled over to the side of the Route 78, where she struck a guardrail. Despite wearing business attire, having no warrants, and having no sign of drugs or alcohol in her car, the State Trooper assumed that she was driving under the influence. However, the Plaintiff had the classic signs of a stroke, including facial drooping, one-sided weakness, and difficulty communicating. Despite that, no medical personnel were called to the scene, which is a normal practice if there is doubt that the problem could be medical. In addition, even if alcohol or drugs were a possible cause, the severity of the driver’s symptoms, as shown on the Trooper's dashcam, would have still called for a prudent law enforcement officer to get a medical opinion. The Trooper involved was in communication with dispatchers who should have been asked to send EMTs to the scene. Instead, the plaintiff was handcuffed and placed in the back of the Trooper's car.
After a significant delay searching her car, the Plaintiff was taken to the Trooper barracks, where it was finally recognized that she was having a stroke. Despite this, and even after the defendant Trooper was made aware by another Trooper that her arrestee was suffering a stroke, while waiting for medical personnel to arrive, the Plaintiff was left shackled to a bench, lying on the floor.
Doctors were able to clear the blood clot that caused the stroke, however, significant damage was already done as a result of the delay in treatment. The driver suffered an additional complication because of the delay in giving clot-busting medication: a late bleed, causing more damage. The Plaintiff suffers from permanent global aphasia, which is a severe disorder affecting a person’s ability to speak, read, write, and understand language.
The total verdict of $19.1 million for pain and suffering, loss of income, future care, and emotional distress was reduced by 40 percent by a conscientious jury allocating that percentage as the risk that some damage may have occurred before the Trooper arrived on the scene.
Dennis Donnelly has already successfully defeated a lengthy post-trial argument by the State alleging that there were errors in the trial. It remains to be seen whether the State, which stubbornly refused to recognize their Trooper’s fault and make a reasonable settlement offer over the 5+ years the case was pending due to Covid-related backlogs, will further appeal.
Multiple news organizations have reported this important result in accountability for negligent response to an accident scene. The victim’s mother and sisters hope the State will improve their ongoing training of Troopers as first responders so no one else suffers what their daughter/sister suffered.
Have you or a loved one suffered due to a misdiagnosis or experienced law enforcement negligence? Contact our New Jersey personal injury attorney today for a free consultation.