PHILADELPHIA – A man seriously injured in a pedestrian accident in 2011 says his legal representation failed to pursue all responsible parties for the accident, which led him to lose out on $1.8 million in insurance payout funds.
Jibreel Townsend of Philadelphia filed suit in the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas on Sept. 14 versus Spear Greenfield & Richman, Rand Spear and Marc Greenfield, Esq., also all of Philadelphia.
On Oct. 8, 2011, Townsend was a pedestrian who was struck by an automobile operated by motorist Samuel Kemp, at the intersection of Aramingo Avenue and Wheatsheaf Lane in Philadelphia. Townsend believed Kemp was negligent in his operation of the vehicle, which was owned by Harold Milstein and which he was given permission to use by Harold’s daughter, Carly Milstein.
In the accident, Townsend claimed to suffer permanent and serious disfigurement, aggravation of pre-existing conditions, a left pubic roof fracture, interior pubic rami fracture, widening of S1 joint, fracture of right teeth, cervical, dorsal and lumbar sprains and strains, bilateral knee, ankle and shoulder injuries, all of which required multiple surgeries and skin grafts.
Soon after, Townsend retained the defendants to provide him with legal counsel and they filed a complaint on behalf against Kemp and Harold Milstein in December 2012, but did not include Carly Milstein as a listed defendant or in the case proceedings until obtaining an affidavit from her on Dec. 6, 2013 – which took place after the applicable statute of limitations expired in the underlying accident case, the suit says.
The suit says Carly Milstein would have had $500,000 of automobile liability insurance coverage available to her with Allstate Insurance Company (according to Harold Milstein’s policy) and an additional $2 million of insurance coverage through an Allstate Insurance Company umbrella policy for the accident of Oct. 8, 2011.
The lawsuit was settled prior to trial on Oct. 11, 2016, with Townsend receiving a payment of $702,800. Townsend believes the defendants committed legal malpractice and fraudulent inducement by failing to label Carly Milstein as liable in the accident which jeopardized the possibility of being able to obtain funds from the $2.5 million umbrella insurance policy and failing to prosecute the case in a timely manner, among other charges.
For the aforementioned counts of negligence/legal malpractice and fraudulent inducement, the plaintiff is seeking damages in excess of $50,000, plus interest and costs.
The plaintiff is represented by Gary C. Bender and Guy N. Paolino of Forbes Bender Paolino & DiSanti, in Media.
Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas case 170901360
From the Pennsylvania Record: Reach Courts Reporter Nicholas Malfitano at nickpennrecord@gmail.com