Personal Injury Lawyer Blog
The following blog entry is written to illustrate how a brain injury lawsuit could develop and resolve. Reviewing this summary 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 brain injury lawsuit and its proceedings.)
CLAIMED INJURIES
According to Plaintiff: Plaintiff returned to work two days later. She was unable to perform her work and was told to return when she was medically capable of doing so. She treated with a primary care doctor, who noted a bruise on her head and neck tenderness. An orthopedic surgeon felt she had a minimal disc protrusion because of the incident but could not rule out that it might have pre-existed the incident. Plaintiff was placed in a neck brace. When she was weaned from the brace, she started developing other problems, including visual disturbances, sensitivity to light, headaches, right-sided numbness, numbness in her face, dizziness, and exhaustion. Her doctors determined she did not have a traumatic brain injury, and the majority of her treating doctors recommended a psychiatric consult. A headache specialist opined that plaintiff had trauma-induced migraines that would resolve within four to six years. He felt there was medication he could have prescribed to greatly reduce her symptoms and allow her to return to work and normal living. Plaintiff felt she had a negative response to medication and declined medication. She also felt her injuries were physical and declined seeking any psychiatric or psychological care. Plaintiff remained off work until early 2009, when she started work as an outpatient physical therapist three days a week. Defendant contended that plaintiff was not badly injured, that she would have been able to return to work within three months if she had followed her doctors’ recommendations, and that, as a result, she had failed to mitigate her damages.
For more information you are welcome to contact Sacramento personal injury lawyer, Moseley Collins.
CLAIMED DAMAGES
According to Plaintiff: Not reported.
SETTLEMENT DISCUSSIONS
According to Plaintiff: Demand: $600,000 (CCP § 998).
Offer: $275,000 (CCP § 998).
SUMMARY:
Verdict/Judgment: Plaintiff
Verdict/Judgment Amount: $691,941
$691,941, reduced by plaintiff’s comparative fault to $415,164. The total judgment included $141,948 in past wage loss, $45,829 in past medical expenses, $213,116 in future wage loss, $11,047 in future medical expenses, $100,000 in past non-economic loss, and $180,000 in future non-economic loss.
Trial Type: Bench
For more information you are welcome to contact Sacramento personal injury lawyer, Moseley Collins.