Houston Personal Injury Lawyer

A long and complicated law suit filed by Merryl Kihl 37 of Commack was decided 13 years later when the Nassau County, New York, legislature unanimously approved a $13 million award.  This is the largest personal injury settlement made by the county.

Kihl was a passenger in a car that slid on wet pavement and struck a tree.   She sustained a fractured neck and other injuries.  The accident occured in 1995.

Kihl received favorable decisions at various levels.  A jury had ruled in her favor.  Jurors could see the protrusion in Kihl’s stomach where a morphine pump had been implanted, and heard testimony that she would need nine or 10 major surgeries during her expected life span to replace the pump periodically.  Doctors say she faces severe pain for the rest of her life.

The county sent their own team to observe Kihl.  Out of the 2,320 minutes she was observed , she was physically active for only 158 minutes.  The trial judge has refused to lower the verdict, and the Appellate Division had upheld the verdict in November.  Because the appellate ruling was unanimous, the county would have had to get permission from one of the appellate judges, or the State Court of Appeals, before it could appeal the case any further.

To learn more, contact the Houston Personal Injury Lawyers at 1.800.220.9341.