Hurt Randolph man dies month after $495,000 settlement

A victim of a motorcycle crash last year in Randolph has died, less than one month after a $495,053 settlement was reached to establish a special needs trust fund for his lifetime care.

Randolph resident Gilberto Antonio Montoya, the 49-year-old father of a 20-year-old son, died Saturday at Morristown Medical Center of complications from the severe head injury he suffered on Aug. 11, 2014, according to his attorney, Marc Futterweit.

On Feb. 13, Superior Court Assignment Judge Thomas Weisenbeck, sitting in Morristown, approved a settlement by an insurance company that agreed to pay $495,053 for a special needs trust fund for Montoya’s care.

Montoya was stopped at a traffic light on Sussex Turnpike, waiting to make a turn on his motorcycle, when he was rear-ended by a 73-year-old driver in a Honda Civic. No criminal charges were filed against the driver, who received a careless driving summons.

Montoya suffered “catastrophic injuries” to his brain when he was thrown from the motorcycle and his helmet flew off. He underwent multiple surgeries and at times appeared to be recovering until he went into a coma in February. With his death, the settlement proceeds will be turned over to Montoya’s son, who lives in Union County, according to Futterweit, who had filed a wrongful death lawsuit on Montoya’s behalf.

The Honda driver’s insurer agreed quickly to settle for virtually the $500,000 policy limit. After fees and expenses were paid from the $495,053 settlement, $344,046 remained for Montoya’s care.

Right after the crash, Montoya underwent a procedure that involved the removal of part of his skull to expose the brain to relieve cerebral pressure, court records said.

“Because of the extensive hemorrhage as well as the compression of the stem of his brain, he initially was unable to breathe, so a tracheostomy was performed, and he was placed on a ventilator,” according to court documents. Montoya remained in a coma for a few days and then underwent another procedure to aid swelling in his brain. He then began to respond to stimuli and emerge from the coma, according to court records.

Futterweit said Montoya, who has remained at Morristown Medical Center since the crash, had been doing fairly well but recently slipped into a coma after undergoing another brain operation. Court records state that he is paralyzed on the left side of his body and is not expected to to have much “if any, appreciable improvement in motor function.”

Staff Writer Peggy Wright: 973-267-1142; pwright@njpressmedia.com