$4.2M Settlement in Auto Collision Case Despite Low Medical Bills
Everyone needs to give the road their full attention when driving, and when an individual is driving a company vehicle, it’s not just their own liability on the line, but that of their employer as well. Companies often have higher policy limits to protect their assets, so when their drivers don’t obey laws, it can be very costly. In this case, the defendant was operating a company-owned vehicle when she made an unsafe turn in front of Jacob Seropian’s client, who had the right of way, though liability was still contested for a variety of issues. The client attempted to avoid the collision by speeding up and veering to the right, but was unable to dodge the oncoming vehicle, which collided into his driver door. The impact sent his vehicle into a spin and caused it to strike a light pole on the corner of the intersection.
The plaintiff was transported to the hospital from the scene of the collision with a fractured left humerus, fracture of the C7 spinous process, and a concussion. He would later be diagnosed with a right shoulder SLAP tear as well. He underwent emergency surgery for his left humerus (ORIF), then a surgery once every year for the next three years — a right shoulder arthroscopy to repair the labral tear, a second one due to re-tearing of the labrum, and then a hardware removal surgery of the plate and screws from his left humerus due to ongoing pain.
Having worked with Focus Graphics many times, Jacob Seropian reached out to get several exhibits to illustrate how much pain and suffering his client experienced over the years. As his client had relatively low medical expenses (just under $350K), he wanted to bolster his client’s claim with illustrations that told the full narrative of his client’s journey. He opted for surgical illustrations of the two SLAP tear repairs, the ORIF, and the hardware removal, as well as a future total right shoulder arthroplasty, which his client was expected to need. We also suggested a brain injury summary because the scalp hematoma on CT looked horrible, although there was no brain bleed, and Mr. Seropian used that graphic to justify his client’s ongoing, persistent migraines and irritability post-injury. Although they did not perform surgery on the C7 spinous process fracture, it was still impactful to include, so we suggested a graphic illustrating this as well. Once presented with Mr. Seropian’s trial preparation, including these graphics, even though medical billings totaled under $350K, the defense eventually agreed on a settlement for a sum of $4.2M.
“I know I can always depend on Focus Graphics to provide exactly what I need. Part of what sets them apart is their eagerness to collaborate and help suggest other exhibits to support our cases. With fairly low medical expenses, we needed to show the ongoing pain and suffering our client endured over a long period of time, and would continue to endure into the future. The illustrations and colorizations Focus Graphics recommended told the defense that we were ready to put our case in front of a jury, and really helped move the needle for us in our settlement discussions.”
~Jacob Seropian, Esq., Pasadena, CA | Seropian Law
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