$665,000
Motor Vehicle Crash — Two Collisions, One Client
What Happened
Our client worked as a plumber – a physically demanding job that required him to be on his feet, in tight spaces, and lifting and carrying heavy equipment every day. Over the course of 3.5 weeks, he was involved in two separate motor vehicle crashes.
The second crash occurred when a driver ran a stop sign in a company van and struck our client’s vehicle. The impact aggravated injuries our client had already sustained in the first crash, and also caused new trauma: a mild traumatic brain injury.
The Injuries
Our client sustained soft tissue injuries to his neck and back in the first crash. The second crash made those injuries worse – and added the brain injury on top of them. Neither crash resulted in surgery, but the cumulative impact on our client’s ability to work was significant. His injuries made it impossible for him to continue working as a plumber in the same capacity he had before.
The Legal Challenge
Cases involving multiple crashes within a short timeframe present a specific challenge: the defense will argue that all of the injuries came from the first crash, not the second – or that the second crash caused no additional harm at all. Jason anticipated this argument, prepared for it, and presented the medical evidence in a way that clearly attributed the aggravated injuries and the brain injury to the second impact.
The fact that the at-fault driver in the second crash was operating a company van also created additional avenues for recovery, as the employer could be held responsible for the negligent operation of a company vehicle.
The Result
The case resolved for $665,000 – a result that reflected not just the injuries themselves, but the long-term impact on our client’s ability to do the physical work he had built his livelihood around.