Several Interesting Recent Settlements
Earlier this month we had the opportunity to help several clients resolve their personal injury cases. Both matters involved one to two years of litigation and both cases were settled shortly before trial.
Motorcycle vs Semi-Trailer Truck ($375,000)
In the first case, we represented a motorcycle rider who was seriously injured after being involved in a collision with a large semi-trailer truck. Our client was safely and lawfully proceeding down a road on his way home from work. He observed the semi-trailer truck parked on the side of the road and well ahead of him.
As he approached the area where the truck was parked, the truck began to move forward and pulled on to the roadway. Our client believed the truck was simply going to unsafely merge into the far outside lane and continue with its direction of travel. Our client changed lanes and continued traveling forward in the lane closest to the center section of the road.
What happened next turned in to a life-changing nightmare. Rather than continue moving forward, the truck unexpectedly attempted to make an illegal u-turn directly in front of our client and other approaching vehicles. Our client was very attentive and rather than slamming into the side of the truck, he put his bike down and slid underneath the trailer section of the truck avoiding a direct impact. Had he not done so, our client was have sustained fatal injuries on impact.
Our client described his actions as the type of thing you might see in a movie– a movie he wishes he was never in.
Unfortunately, when he slid underneath the trailer, his shoulder struck a low hanging piece of metal that resulted in him sustaining major injuries to his shoulder and other body parts. During the fall, our client also sustained other serious injuries relating to bruising and road rash.
Automobile Collision ($100,000)
In another case, our firm represented a wonderful elderly woman who was a negligent free passenger in the back seat of a Land Rover being driven by her son-in-law. After the driver fell asleep at the wheel, the vehicle collided into the back of a truck that had stopped on the freeway.
Despite being seat belted in, the force of the collision resulted in our client sustaining injuries to her knees, shoulder, face, and mouth.
Before this collision, our client enjoyed traveling and being active. After the collision, she suffered constant pain and had to change her daily habits.
The good news is that with the assistance of a very experienced retired Superior Court Judge and outstanding Judicate West Mediator, we were able to resolve the case one week before trial. We’re also happy to report that all is well between our client and her son-in-law.