WILKES-BARRE
- A $25 , 000 settlement was reached Thursday, prior to closing
arguments, in the two-day jury trial of a lawsuit filed on
behalf of a 10-year-old Hazleton boy who was struck by a car
while riding a scooter.
Attorney
Robert Powell confirmed the settlement amount on behalf of
Traian Jovanov, son of Joca and Elizabeth Jovanov, of 109
N. Pine St. Powell,
who represented the Jovanovs along with attorney Stephen Seach,
said the case was settled for the amount of the defendant's
policy limits.
The
settlement was reached after Judge Mark Ciavarella ruled,
based on the evidence, that the 10-year-old couldn't be found
negligent for the accident. Powell said the settlement "now
allows us to pursue an underinsured motorist claim" through
arbitration against the parents' insurance company.
The
boy was injured when his scooter collided with a car driven
by Emma Darrough, of 187 S. Wyoming St., at the intersection
of Oak and Pine streets at 7:15 p.m. on April 28, 1995.
According
to testimony, the youth suffered a minor fracture to the fibula
of his right leg, which required him to wear a light cast
and resulted in no permanent damage.
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Powell
said the boy's story was consistent with the testimony of Carl
Bruns, an emergency medical technician. The boy said he was
crossing the intersection and Darrough's car hit him.
Powell
said Bruns wrote down in his report that Darrough said her vehicle
had entered the intersection and struck the youngster. According
to Powell, Darrough later claimed her car was stopped, and that
she never saw the boy until he was flying through the air after
being struck by her car.
Attorney
J. Timothy Hinton, who was hired by the insurance company to represent
Darrough, claimed the boy was riding his scooter in the wrong
direction (South) on Pine, which is one-way northbound, and steered
it into the passenger side of the car as it entered the intersection
westbound on Oak.
Hinton
said the damage to the car was on the passenger side fender
and disputed the plaintiffs claim that the boy was struck by
the area of the car's right headlight. Hinton
produced pictures which showed two dents in the fender which
he said were made by the handle bars of the scooter.
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