Browns Mills accident victim's lawsuit settled for $25.75M

PEMBERTON TWP. — Millions of dollars are going into a trust for a Browns Mills man living with “catastrophic injuries” here from a motorcycle accident with a Burlington County BurLINK bus seven years ago.

A Burlington County Superior Court judge in August approved a court-mediated, $25.75 million settlement for Russel J. Steele Jr.

In 2018, his family filed a lawsuit on his behalf against the county and Stout’s Charter Bus, which operated the bus for the county.

The settlement calls for the county to pay $15.45 million, with various county insurance policies covering the cost. Stout’s will pay $10.3 million, covered by insurance.

A breakdown of payout sources is below:

Burlington County :

• $250,000 paid by the Burlington County Self-Insured Retention Fund- Burlington County
• $250,000 paid by the NJ Joint Insurance Fund-Burlington County
• $10,000,000 paid by Brit Global Specialty USA- Burlington County
• $4,950,000 paid by Nationwide*- Burlington County

Stout’s II:

• $300,000 paid by PLIGA-Stouts II

Stout’s Charter Service:

• $1,000,000 paid by Lancer Insurance Company- Stout’s Charter Service
• $4,000,000 Lexington Insurance Company- Stout’s Charter Service
• $5,000,000 CRC Insurance Services Inc- Stout’s Charter Service

More: Pemberton senior Russel Steele enjoys feeling like a district champion

More: WWII warbirds star at Cape May Airport's AirFest running Labor Day weekend

The accident occurred on Junction Road near Pine Cove Road on July 11, 2017. The settlement was announced on Wednesday by Stark & Stark, the law firm representing the family.

Family attorney Joel R. Rosenberg said the accident could have been prevented and blamed “gross negligence.” The bus did not yield at a stop sign and pulled into the path of the motorcycle, he said.

Steele was 18 at the time, a former state wrestling championship competitor and a county Institute of Technology graduate working at his family’s building business. He initially was in a coma after the accident, with a traumatic brain injury according to one filing, and given slight odds for a recovery.

“The strength RJ has shown in the years since — enduring surgery, countless therapies and setbacks — has been nothing short of heroic,” Rosenberg said. “This settlement, while substantial, reflects the profound loss RJ and his family have suffered and will help to provide for his continued care and rehabilitation.”

The county Surrogate’s Court has been asked to approve an interest-bearing trust fund to accept the settlement money.

The settlement approves roughly $6.39 million in attorney fees for Stark & Stark, plus $65,479 for the Northeast Carpenters Health Fund and smaller repayments to Medicare and Medicaid.

Joe Smith is a N.E. Philly native transplanted to South Jersey 36 years ago, keeping an eye now on government in South Jersey. He is a former editor and current senior staff writer for The Daily Journal in Vineland, Courier-Post in Cherry Hill, and the Burlington County Times.

Have a tip? Support journalism with a subscription.

This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Browns Mills accident victim's lawsuit settled for $25.75M