Our client was the driver of a GMC Sierra pick-up truck owned by his employer. A young man driving a Toyota Camry crossed the double solid center line striking our client head-on causing a traumatic brain injury. This young man was intoxicated with drugs. The aggravated nature of the wreck was a contributing factor to the resolution.
Our client suffered a traumatic brain injury resulting in retrograde amnesia, tinnitus, PTSD, post-concussive syndrome, and headaches. He also suffered an injury to his neck, an abrasion of on his nose, chest, and an injury to his left knee resulting in surgery. The medical information substantiated the injuries sustained by our client as a result of the gross negligence of the driver. Our client had several thousand dollars in lost wages and will never be able to perform the work he was engaged in prior to the accident.
Our client had in excess of $41,000.00 in medical bills and sought reimbursement for lost wages exceeding $100,000.00 with the real our client would never return to the workforce.
Both the defendants in the personal injury case and the workers’ compensation case denied that our client had a brain injury at all and that he could go back to work at any time. In fact, the defense hired a doctor to say that our client suffered from the gradual progression of small vessel disease (SVD) in the brain, which was purportedly shown by the brain MRI. The same doctor also suggested that our client suffered from Lyme disease or possibly a tick bite although no tests confirmed either. Both of which could produce symptoms similar to a traumatic brain injury.
We were able to recover $210,000 from a combination of insurance policies including the liability policy of the defendant, the underinsured policy of the employer who owned the truck our client was driving, and our client’s personal underinsured policy. In addition, we were able to recover $185,000 in addition to certain reimbursements for medical treatment paid for out of pocket by our client.
Total recovery between the workers’ compensation case and the personal injury case was $385,000.00.
