The following blog entry is part of the plaintiff’s response to the defendant’s new trial motion, which was posted earlier this month.
(Please note: the names and locations of all parties have been changed to protect the confidentiality of the participants in this motorcycle accident/personal injury case and its proceedings.)
Dr. David Jones, a board certified orthopaedist, testified that Mr. Smith was severely injured in the motorcycle collision. As a direct consequence of the collision, Dr. Jones diagnosed Mr. Smith with a left thigh strain, left groin strain, abdominal wall strain, testicular contusion, left thigh contusion, chest wall contusion, closed head injury and pelvic contusion. The injuries were so severe, that a post-collision MRI confirmed that Mr. Smith hand sustained a pelvic bone bruise with micro-fractures. Dr. Jones testified that the force generated in the trauma exerted upon the tissues surrounding Mr. Smith’s pelvis was so severe the underlying pelvic bone was bruised and micro-fractured. In short, this was a considerable trauma.
Dr. Jones testified that Mr. Smith had experienced three and one-half years of significant pain, measured as a three to four on a scale of ten, and would more likely than not continue to experience this pain for another three to four years. While the defendant has argued that Dr. Jones testified that the pain would typically resolve in three to five years, in the case of Mr. Smith Dr. Jones opined that the pain would continue for another three to four years. Mr. Smith would experience daily pain with stiffness and flare-ups of extreme pain. Dr. Jones testified that Mr. Smith would lose eight to nine days of employment per year for the next three to four years. Dr. Jones concluded that this was a very serious injury. The testimony of Dr. Jones was uncontradicted.
Dr. Joe Bale, a board certified radiologist, testified regarding extent of injury to Mr. Smith’s testicle and that injury was permanent. Dr. Bale reviewed CT scans, performed in July of 2005 and in August of 2007, of Mr. Smith’s testicles. The first test revealed that the Mr. Smith’s left (injured) testicle was 30% smaller than the right testicle. Dr. Bale testified that this discrepancy in size may have been congenital or the result of trauma. If the discrepancy were congenital, it would remain constant over time; if the discrepancy were the result of trauma, the left testicle would continue to atrophy as the damage progressed. When a CT scan was performed in August 2007, two years later, the discrepancy had increased, from a 30% reduction in mass to 50% reduction in mass.
These objective findings confirmed three facts: 1) that there was significant, permanent and painful damage to Mr. Smith’s left testicle; 2) that this damage was the result of the trauma in the June 12, 2005 collision between the defendant’s vehicle and Mr. Smith’s motorcycle; and 3) that the injury was permanent. This testimony was uncontradicted.
The defendant complains Mr. Smith’s injuries as only soft tissue injuries which do not warrant reasonable compensation. The complaints of the defendant are directly in conflict with the uncontroverted testimony of the only medical witnesses who were called to testify at the trial. Dr. Jones concluded that Mr. Smith sustained multiple injuries, including a pelvic bone bruise and micro-fractures – these are not mere soft tissue injuries. These injuries are the result of damages to Mr. Smith’s pelvic bone and are long-lasting. Dr. Jones testified that Mr. Smith will experience significant pain, swelling, stiffness and flare-ups from these injuries for three to four more years – until 2011 or 2012. Simple math reveals that this injuries will have a duration of at least seven or eight years. (See Part 4 of 5.)
For more information you are welcome to contact Sacramento personal injury lawyer, Moseley Collins.