The following blog entry is written to illustrate an example of a personal injury case. Reviewing this kind of lawsuit should help potential plaintiffs and clients better understand how parties in personal injury cases present such issues to the court.
(Please also note: the names and locations of all parties have been changed to protect the confidentiality of the participants in this personal injury lawsuit and its proceedings.)
INJURIES: German alleged a mild traumatic brain injury and cognitive deficits. After the accident, he was taken to an emergency room. The paramedic report and ER records indicated that there was no loss of consciousness and that neurological exams were normal. A CT scan of his brain 72 hours after the accident was normal with no signs of bleeding, swelling or bruising. German returned to school and took the California High School Exit Examination within 72 hours of the accident.
Facts:
On May 8, 2005, plaintiff Sal German, 17, a high school student, was a passenger in a sport utility vehicle that was riding on Avenue K in Sacramento. The SUV was struck head-on by a car operated by allegedly drunk driver Devon Boon, who lost control of the vehicle as he came around a curve in the road.
German, who was no longer a minor at trial, sued Boon and Boon’s employer, the owner of the vehicle, for motor vehicle negligence.
The employer settled before trial for $8,186,000, and the case proceeded against Boon.
Prior to trial, Boon pled not guilty to drinking and driving charges, and claimed that a defective brake pedal in the vehicle and a dangerous curve on the road caused the collision.
For more information you are welcome to contact Sacramento personal injury lawyer, Moseley Collins.
At trial, the defense admitted liability.
Fifty-six days after the accident, a 2-centimeter intracerebral hemorrhage was discovered, which led to intermittent loss of peripheral vision in his left eye.
German had passed the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery prior to the accident, but the hemorrhage rendered him ineligible to join the military, as was his dream.
Plaintiff neurology expert Ralph Ferry and plaintiff kinesiology expert Jim Kelly explained the mechanisms of mild traumatic brain injury and micro-shearing from rotational forces. They explained that, even though it is unusual to discover bleeding so long after the collision, minor injury to the small vessels in the brain can occur and later develop into a more severe injury.
For more information you are welcome to contact Sacramento personal injury lawyer, Moseley Collins.