INJURED PASSENGER OBTAINS $1.2 MILLION SETTLEMENT AGAINST HIS DRIVER FOR RUNNING OFF THE ROAD

On 3/12/2019, Plaintiff was a passenger in a friend’s car, who was driving erratically and ran off the road and struck a pole.  Client sustained serious life-threatening injuries that required an emergency brain surgery, shoulder surgery and knee surgery, with hardware implants in the shoulder and knee.  Medical bills totaled $471,000 and lost income from operating his store totaled $25,000.  Client returned to work full time without restrictions in only three months after the accident. Fourteen months after the accident, Client followed up with an orthopedist for knee complaints and had several injections that did not relieve his symptoms.  However, the orthopedist was unsure if the knee complaints were related to the injury or surgery since Client had pre-existing osteoarthritis in his knees with prior injections.  The pre-suit settlement offer was $900,000.  Shortly after the lawsuit was filed, the offer increased to $925,000.  After Plaintiff’s expert designations and before depositions, the case settled for $1.2 million.