Offer of Less Than $100K Becomes $4.7M Verdict in Rear-End Collision Case
Giving the road full attention while driving should be the norm, but more and more there are distracted drivers wreaking havoc on the roads. A red light is a clear indication to stop, but in the case of James Tawney’s client, a fuel tanker truck approaching a red light neglected to stop in time to avoid rear-ending his client while she was stopped at the light. Although his client was 70 years old at the time and had several pre-existing conditions, neck and spinal problems were not among them. The MRI taken a couple of days after the crash showed multiple disc herniations and annular tears in addition to normal degenerative changes due to age. For three years, Mr. Tawney’s client underwent conservative treatment, with a gap of about a year that started about 6 weeks after the crash. She eventually received a surgical recommendation.
Due to the large gap in treatment, the defense argued that there were not any significant injuries to her spine other than the sprains and strains that lasted those 6 weeks before the treatment gap. They offered less than $100,000 to his client, which wasn’t nearly enough to cover her past and future medical treatments as well as the pain and trauma she continues to suffer. Mr. Tawney reached out to Focus Graphics to create multiple exhibits for trial, including colorizations of his client’s MRI imaging and one of his new favorites, a 3D spine. These 3D spines are created from the client’s imaging and can be broken apart to show the internal damage, as well as any hardware, if present. This was instrumental in helping the jury make a decision in favor of Mr. Tawney’s client in the amount of $4.7M.
“This is the second trial for which we’ve ordered a 3D printed spine from Focus Graphics using our client’s actual imaging. The first settled right before voir dire but this time we got to use it during trial and it was a game changer. When the defense doctor was done using his model spine on direct in an attempt to kill our case, we handed him our client’s ‘real spine’ for cross-examination and made him ‘teach’ the jury about all the problems they could see on the 3D printed spine with their own eyes. It was awesome! After our victory, our client asked for the 3D printed spine as her ‘trophy!’“
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