On Nov. 12, 2009, claimant Richard Metzdorff, 48, an operations manager, was driving at 60 mph in a high-occupancy vehicle lane on Interstate 91, just past the Interstate 55 interchange, when his vehicle was struck on the rear, left side by a vehicle operated by Samer Jaridly. This collision caused Metzdorff to lose control of his vehicle, spin out into the regular lanes, and crash into a vehicle operated by Alexandra Chavez. Metzdorff injured his neck in the accident. Arilles Miller, who was a passenger in Metzdorff’s vehicle, and Chavez also claimed . Metzdorff, Miller, and Chavez all filed separate actions against Jaridly, alleging that Jaridly was negligent in the operation of his vehicle. The actions were eventually consolidated, and the case settled with Jaridly agreeing to tender his insurance policy in February 2013. Jaridly’s $500,000 single-limit policy was split amongst the three plaintiffs, with Metzdorff receiving $170,000. After the settlement with Jaridly, Metzdorff sought further recovery via the supplementary-underinsured-motorist provision of his own insurance policy, which was administered by Travelers Insurance Co., Metzdorff claimed he suffered to his cervical spine. After proceeding with a lengthy course of conservative treatment, Metzdorff proceeded with an anterior cervical discectomy and fusion. At the time of his surgery, Metzdorff was diagnosed with at C4-5 disc herniation/osteopathy with severe cord compression, and left-sided spinal cord myelomalacia (or softening of the spinal cord). He was also diagnosed with a central to left central disc protrusion at C5-6, and canal narrowing. Thus, the surgery was performed on the C4-5 level. Following surgery and recuperation, Metzdorff continued to have neurological complaints. As a result, he received a recommendation for a left-sided decompression with foraminotomies, or a bilateral decompression with intralaminar fusion at the C3-4, C4-5 and C5-6 levels.