Jury Awards $9.5 Million to Sisters Hurt in 2009 Jersey Shore Boating Accident

    TEANECK, NJ, August 13, 2016 /24-7PressRelease/ -- A Bergen County jury has awarded $9.5 million to two sisters who were severely injured in a 2009 Memorial Day weekend boating accident along the Jersey Shore, the law firm of Davis, Saperstein & Salomon, P.C., announced today.

Following a two-week damages trial in July, the jury awarded $5.6 million to 29-year-old Gina Franzino and $3.9 million to her 26-year-old sister, Jamie Franzino.

In a separate trial in January, the jury found that liability should be imposed on the two boaters whose Boston Whaler struck a smaller skiff carrying the sisters and their friends.

"We are grateful that the jury understood how badly we were hurt and how we continue to suffer," said Gina Franzino, whose award includes the costs of anticipated future hip replacement surgeries.

Franzino and her sister currently work at an organic food restaurant in Mahwah, N.J.

"After seven years of litigation, we just want to get on with our lives," she said.

The incident occurred on May 22, 2009, which was the Friday of Memorial Day weekend, according to court documents.

The two sisters had gone on an outing with friends aboard a 15-foot, 50-horsepower skiff at the Manasquan Inlet, a popular coastal spot located near Ocean and Monmouth counties.

The day turned to tragedy when the skiff collided with the 31-foot, 14,000-pound, 450-horsepower Boston Whaler, which was returning from mechanical sea trials in the Atlantic Ocean.

The Whaler was driven by 40-plus year veteran boater Ed McCarthy, who was operating the boat while working for McCarthy's Marine Sales of Brielle, N.J., according to court documents.

The crash sent the sisters to Jersey Shore Medical Center via Medevac helicopter. The collision killed a third victim, Kyle Tanis, 25, of Mahwah.

Jamie Franzino suffered a concussion, collapsed lung (with chest tube insertion), broken rib, fractured pelvis, bilateral lung contusions, shattered teeth, anosmia (loss of sense of smell and taste) and permanent nerve damage to her left foot.

Gina Franzino's pelvis was shattered so severely that she required open reduction surgery and internal fixation, with pins, plates and screws. Her spleen was torn into several pieces and removed. She also sustained a concussion, with loss of consciousness for several days. Her splenectomy and pelvic repair left her with significant scarring of her abdomen, hip and legs.

Both sisters claim that they continue to experience post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a result of the Memorial Day weekend collision and its aftermath.

Like many personal injury cases, the sisters' trial was bifurcated, or divided into separate liability and damages proceedings.

The jury found McCarthy and the second driver liable on January 22 at the end of a three-week trial in Bergen County Superior Court. The Honorable Charles E. Powers Jr. presided over the damages portion of the case, which concluded in July after two weeks of trial.

The jury deliberated for approximately five hours before awarding the combined $9.5 million amount to the sisters, according to attorney Samuel L. Davis of Davis, Saperstein & Salomon, P.C., who represented Gina Franzino.

"While money cannot take away Jamie's or Gina's physical and emotional scars, it will certainly help them carry on their lives with financial stability," Davis said.

Christopher T. Karounos of Karounos & Associates, LLC, of Elmwood, N.J., represented Jamie Franzino.

The case is Franzino v. McCarthy Marine Sales (Bergen County Superior Court, Docket No. Ber-L 9503).

For more information about the case, please contact Mr. Davis at (201) 907-5000 or e-mail [email protected].

About Davis, Saperstein & Salomon, P.C.

The law firm of Davis, Saperstein & Salomon, P.C., provides compassionate and skilled legal help to those injured by the negligence of others. Since 1981, the firm has secured more than $400 million in verdicts and settlements for personal injury and accident clients throughout New Jersey and New York. The firm's main office is located at 375 Cedar Lane, Teaneck, New Jersey, 07666. The firm also features offices in Freehold, Jersey City, Newark, Princeton, Colonia, Iselin, East Rutherford, Bridgewater, Woodcliff Lake and New York City. You can learn more about the firm by calling (800) LAW-2000 or submitting the firm's online contact form.

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