But in this case, the attorney said the extra money for the illustrator made the difference.

"They certainly played a significant dividend in terms of impact value," Houlihan said. "I really think my client's testimony, along with the medical illustrations clinched it. A layperson can look at an X-Ray or MRI. But without having it illustrated, it is hard for the untrained eye to really understand what is going on."

Houlihan, a partner with RisCassi & Davis in Hartford, said those injuries, which led to two separate surgeries on the victim's spine, along with the plaintiff's testimony himself were the two main reasons for securing the Jan. 29 settlement.

"The medical people put it in layman's terms for the arbitrator, and that definitely swayed him," Houlihan said. "My client's testimony in front of [arbitrator] Richard Renehan was also vital. My client wanted the arbitrator to know that he was a guy who worked up to 16 hours a day in the summer months, in which, as part of his job, he has to bend over. He worked in his job in a lot of pain."

Plaintiff Timothy Scussel, the 68-year-old owner and operator of a pool maintenance company, was injured in September 2017 when the car he was driving struck a vehicle that was sitting idle on Interstate 84 in Southington. He missed about four weeks of work, Houlihan said.

Police said defendant driver Jasmine Riddle told them she ran out of gas; she also didn't have her lights on during the early morning incident. Riddle was given infractions for operating under suspension and improper parking.

Scussel, a Suffield resident, slammed into the rear of Riddle's idle motor vehicle, Houlihan said.

An amended lawsuit was filed in September 2020 in Hartford Superior Court.

Houlihan said the defense pushed back on both liability and damages. With regard to liability, his client conceded he was traveling about 65 miles per hour in a 55 miles-per-hour zone. But, Houlihan said, "my argument was, based on the police officer's investigation, that my client wouldn't have been able to stop in time to avoid the accident, even if he was traveling 55 miles per hour."

And Houlihan said, on the damages front, "they weren't contesting that my client fractured his spine, but their main attack was on the necessity of the two surgeries he had to relieve his back pain. They argued, through medical experts, that he didn't need two surgeries; we disagreed."

Scussel settled with Riddle's insurance carrier for the $100,000 policy limit more than two years ago, Houlihan said. The recent settlement for $660,173 was with Quincy Mutual Fire Insurance Co., Scussel's carrier.

Houilhan said one of his client's surgeries entailed having a rod placed in five levels of the spine. "He is someone who doesn't allow himself to be limited. He works through the pain in everything he does," Houlihan said.

Scussel incurred about $160,000 in medical expenses, Houlihan said.

Defense counsel for Quincy Mutual is Adam LaFleche of Wolf, Horowitz & Etlinger, who didn't respond to requests for comment.

In court pleadings, the defense put the blame on Scussel.

Those pleadings said Scussel "failed to keep and maintain a reasonable and proper lookout" and failed to swerve to avoid the idle vehicle. The pleadings also noted Scussel was traveling above the speed limit.