Clarence teacher hurt in crash wins nearly $750,000 jury award against Amherst

Dec. 02--A Clarence High School teacher has won nearly $750,000 in her lawsuit against the Town of Amherst for injuries she suffered in a motor-vehicle accident.

Kori Grasha said she developed severe, recurring headaches after the three-vehicle crash that involved a town-owned pickup truck. The Cheektowaga resident also underwent arthroscopic shoulder surgery following the 2011 crash.

The town intends to appeal the jury award.

"We think that the verdict was too high and not justified by the evidence they heard," said lawyer George W. Collins Jr., who represents the town in the lawsuit.

Photos taken by a private investigator show Grasha resumed her lifestyle and athletic pursuits without difficulty, the town contends. The investigator collected photos of Grasha playing golf, running in 5Ks and longer races, traveling as a chaperone to Italy with her Latin students and hanging out on Chippewa Street, Collins said.

A third driver involved in the crash reached an undisclosed settlement with Grasha before the trial.

The chain-reaction crash took place on Jan. 31, 2011, on Wehrle Drive near Cayuga Road. All of the vehicles were traveling eastbound toward Aero Drive around 8:30 a.m., Collins said. Grasha had stopped behind a vehicle waiting to turn left when the town highway vehicle crashed into her from behind.

The worker said he tried to brake before the impact but slid on ice, Collins said.

Moments later, a vehicle driven by another driver hit the town pickup from behind. That driver's attorney, Nancy Long, said it was a point of dispute whether that impact caused the pickup to strike Grasha's vehicle a second time. The question of how icy the road was at the time also came up during the trial.

The three drivers got out of their vehicles to check on each other and the vehicles. Only the third driver's vehicle sustained significant damage.

Grasha complained of nausea, and her father took her to Millard Fillmore Suburban Hospital in Amherst, Collins said.

She didn't miss much work beyond the initial days after the accident and then for the surgery and for follow-up doctors' appointments, Collins said.

In her lawsuit, filed in 2012 in State Supreme Court, Grasha said the force of the accident caused both her shoulder injury and painful, daily headaches. She received Botox injections, among other treatment, for the headaches, Collins said.

A doctor hired by the town testified the accident was unlikely to cause Grasha's headaches because she didn't suffer a concussion, Collins said. The third driver's insurance carrier hired a medical expert who said he believes Grasha's shoulder injury was degenerative and not traumatic in nature.

As part of their fact-gathering, the town and the third driver's carrier hired a private investigator to surveil Grasha.

When questioned, Collins said, Grasha explained she pursued those activities "through gritted teeth."

The trial ended in April with the jury finding the town employee was 70 percent responsible for Grasha's injuries and the other driver was 30 percent responsible. The jury said the town owed Grasha $748,663.

"I think it was unexpected," Long said of the size of the award.

"They bought what she was selling," Collins said of the jury.

Roland M. Cercone, Grasha's attorney, did not respond to messages seeking comment.

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