Motorcyclist injured in crash paid $1.7 million in N.J. suit
Matthew Priessnitz’s motorcycle struck Elizabeth Roe’s vehicle on the driver’s side fender, according to the police report.
A civil case over a 2017 accident in Hackensack, N.J., involving a man who was seriously injured when his motorcycle was struck by a turning vehicle, settled for $1.7 million on May 18. Allstate covered the entire settlement, which was paid on June 1.
The accident occurred on June 14, 2017, when plaintiff Matthew Priessnitz, then 29 and an auto mechanic from Asbury, was traveling south on a 2015 white Suzuki DR-Z400 motorcycle along Route 182-Mountain Avenue and Shelley Drive in Hackensack, according to a police report.
Based on the police report, defendant Elizabeth Roe, then 19, of Long Valley, was pulling out of a parking lot in a grey 2013 Honda Odyssey and attempted to make a left turn onto Route 182 and cut off Priessnitz, causing the collision.
Priessnitz’s motorcycle struck Roe’s vehicle on the driver’s side fender, according to the police report.
Priessnitz, represented by Jeffrey Zenna of Blume Forte Fried Zerres and Molinari in Chatham, filed a complaint on May 31, 2018.
The police report states Priessnitz suffered serious injuries and was transported to Morristown Medical Center for a left femoral fracture following the accident. Zenna said he underwent two open reduction internal fixation surgeries and had a bone graft procedure.
“$1.7 million was a fair settlement given the severity of his injuries and his age,” Zenna said in a phone call. “He has recovered but still has some weakness in the leg.”
Zenna said the funds were deposited on June 1. Priessnitz, while recovering, has not returned to full-time work and is no longer a mechanic, Zenna noted.
Priessnitz ”did not return to his job but rather studied to become a public adjuster,” added Zenna. “He is presently doing odd jobs and looking for work as a public adjuster.”
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