With the dedicated work of the Osterbind Law personal injury team, one of our clients received a $150,000.00 settlement for his personal injury claim on a T-bone collision in Halifax, Virginia.
Our client—living in South Boston, Virginia—was in a violent car wreck that caused him extensive injuries and disrupted his life. Our client had a prior heart condition and had just returned to work after about three months off before the accident.
At about 9:30 a.m. on June 3, 2013, the defendant arrived at our client’s dealership to buy a car. After selecting a small white Nissan, the defendant requested a demo drive to see if she liked how it drove. Our client got into the passenger seat and put on his seatbelt before the demo began. The demo went well the defendant announced her intent to purchase the car. Then, the defendant approached a stop sign on the return route to the dealership. Instead of stopping at the sign, the defendant sped up. Our client said, “ma’am, you’ve got to stop at the stop sign.” She didn’t.
As the Nissan crossed into the intersection through the red stop sign, a van came from the side and T-boned the Nissan on the passenger side, crushing the door of the car inward on our client and jolting him sideways. The defendant pulled the wheel to the left and the Nissan collided with a utility pole that was twenty feet away from the initial impact. The impact of the second collision jolted our client forward and crushed the front of the Nissan inwards. Our client had to crawl out of the back of the Nissan while choking on the smoke from the car.
The two collisions inflicted serious injuries to our client on the neck, jaw, lung, shoulder, and upper arm – resulting in continuous neck pain, shoulder pain, breathing difficulties, and emotional stress. He was treated at Halifax Regional Hospital and was diagnosed with chest wall pain, chest wall tenderness and neck pain and eventually received surgery for a rotator cuff tear of his right shoulder. The accident also caused our client to wake up every night in distress and created anxiety about demo rides. Medical expenses to treat these injuries amounted to $58,216.91.
In Virginia, the driver of a car owes a duty to his passengers and to others on the road to operate the car with reasonable care and with due regard for others using the road. When the driver is the customer of a dealership, that duty still exists to protect the passengers and other drivers.
If you or someone you know has been injured in a collision as a passenger, there may be a claim against for damages. We give free consultations for all personal injury victims and will offer advice on how to move forward and protect your interests.
The Virginia State Bar requires that we give a disclaimer whenever we talk about case results. As we are sure you already know, the case result described above must be read in context with the unique facts of this particular case. Each case result depends upon a variety of factors unique to each case, which is why we describe those facts in detail. To be clear, this case result does not guarantee or predict a similar result in any future case undertaken by the lawyers at Osterbind Law, PLLC.
