Recent Cases and Results Involving Vehicle Accidents

Experience and hard work can make all the difference in how a case is resolved. In the following recent cases, because our lawyers were willing to put in the work, we achieved some  remarkable results for our clients. A “quick settlement” would not have gotten the same results. An experienced lawyer knows what to ask for and knows not to give up until the evidence is obtained!

Death and Serious Injury/ Dump Truck Collision

Our clients, an elderly retired couple, came to a stop as a traffic light turned yellow to red along a busy U.S. highway. A dump truck driver behind them did not begin to brake until the last second and plowed into their vehicle. The damage to our client’s small sedan was extensive. Sadly, the wife died at the scene and the husband was seriously injured. Extensive discovery was undertaken, which established that the defendant driver was a new hire, unfamiliar with the area and was confused about where to deliver his load. He was using phone map technology to find his way. Because he was extremely hard of hearing, he was unable to use “turn by turn” audio directions. Consequently, he was looking at his phone instead of looking at the road when traffic ahead of him stopped. Despite a very conservative venue, we were able to secure a significant settlement for the wrongful death and the injury.

Delivery Van Turnover

Our client was working as a delivery driver for a national company, driving one of their large box-style vans, when an 18-wheeler owned by a local farming operation pulled in front of him on a rural highway. Our client had some physical injury, but most of his damages were the “invisible” damages caused by post-concussive head injuries. We had our client evaluated by an independent neuropsychologist to help establish the severity of his injuries. Despite the difficulty in proving such injuries, we were able to secure a considerable settlement.

Negligent Re-Hire of Impaired and Distracted driver

Our client was on her way into work when a company-owned vehicle driving in the opposite direction drifted off the road and crashed into the guardrail, causing a front wheel and tire to shear off and roll into oncoming traffic. A pile-up was caused and our client was injured. Initially, the company denied any liability, because their driver employee claimed an unknown vehicle had forced him off the road and then left the scene, despite scant evidence of any such vehicle. A lawsuit was filed, and our subsequent extensive discovery made a deep dive into post-crash DOT drug tests, criminal records, employment records, and cellphone records. Drug tests showed that the defendant driver had tested positive for methamphetamine following the wreck. Cell phone records showed that the driver had slept very little the night before the wreck and was apparently texting or emailing his supervisor on his phone at the time of the wreck.  Arrest records obtained showed the driver had a long prior history of drug offenses and arrests. Employment records obtained showed that the driver had previously worked for the same company in the past but had recently been re-hired, despite evidence that higher-ups in the company knew about his past drug problems and had directed his re-hire contrary to company policy. Because of all of these issues, the case settled for a substantial sum in one of the most conservative counties in the state.

Dash-Cam Proves Driver Fault

Our client was driving along a rural county road toward an interstate, when a large box truck turned left immediately in front of him. Typically, such cases turn into a swearing contest, where the defendant does all it can to try and prove that the injured party was at least partially at fault, usually claiming that the victim was driving too fast and “came out of nowhere.” Our initial contact letter demanded that all evidence be preserved and demanded a timely vehicle inspection of the truck, now moved to a repair facility 150 miles away. The vehicle inspection revealed that the at-fault truck was equipped with “dash-cam” technology. Because the video was preserved, there was no question that the truck was at fault. We were able to effect a sizeable settlement.

Driver Proven to be Impaired

Our client was injured when an oncoming vehicle crossed a grass median and struck her car while she was driving to buy lunch. The defendant driver maintained that he had become ill at work that morning, and that he simply fainted as he tried to drive himself home. He denied, under oath, that he had consumed any alcohol or other intoxicating substance prior to the collision. However, hospital emergency room records — obtained by subpoena — revealed that the defendant had admitted to treating physicians that he consumed alcohol all morning prior to the wreck. Hospital blood work showed that the defendant was well over the legal limit at the time of the wreck. The case settled quickly after the subpoenaed records were obtained.