Jury Awards Long Branch Man $1.25 Million For Accident Injuries

FREEHOLD – A Monmouth County jury recently awarded a 72-year-old Long Branch man $1.25 million for back injuries he suffered in an Toms River accident several years ago.

The jury also awarded Melvin Reid's wife $50,000 for loss of consortium at the end of the five-day trial before Superior Court Judge Mara Zazzali-Hogan, according to a report in the Asbury Park Press.

Reid's attorney Daniel M. Santarsiero said his client's injuries - which included herniated discs in his neck and back - are permanent. He is still being treated and can't live the active life he once did.

“It’s really had an impact on his ability to do the things he used to enjoy,’’ Santarsiero said.

The jury ruled against Allstate Insurance Company of New Jersey. Reid's policy covered accidents with underinsured motorists.

Reid was injured in a February 2014 accident in Toms River, when a westbound pickup truck driven by Jonathan Radcliffebivins crossed the center line on Route 70 into the eastbound lanes and collided with a pickup truck driven by Reid's son. Marc Reid tried to avoid the collision, but the impact pushed the Reid truck into a telephone pole. Reid was a passenger in the pickup.

Reid led an active life after he retired from the Manalapan school district, where he had been a teacher and an administrator. He restored a Superstorm Sandy home and did masonry and carpentry work, Santarsiero told app.com.

Allstate's attorney claimed that Reid's medical problems were from a pre-existing spinal condition.

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