The plaintiff was injured in a four-vehicle accident and commenced an action for damages against the drivers/owners of the vehicles that struck him. Following a nine day trial, the jury awarded the plaintiff nothing. The plaintiff had been involved in three subsequent motor vehicle accidents. The experts he called had not provided treatment prior to the fourth of the four accidents. In his decision on threshold, Justice Sanfilippo did not accept the experts’ evidence regarding causation. He also relied on common sense and took into consideration the scope of the various accidents. The plaintiff claimed the subject “fender bender” caused all of his ongoing pain, while the subsequent accidents (which caused significant property damage and hospital stays) did not. Justice Sanfilippo rejected this theory. The plaintiff was held not to meet the threshold.
