Personal Injury Lawyer Blog
The following blog entry is written to illustrate how a car accident lawsuit might follow. Reviewing this kind of case should help potential plaintiffs and clients better understand how parties in personal injury cases present such issues to the court.
(Please also note: the names and locations of all parties have been changed to protect the confidentiality of the participants in this car accident lawsuit and its proceedings.)
INJURIES: Kelly claimed that the accident aggravated a pre-existing lumbar condition, that he had disc herniations worsened or caused by the impact and that he had been asymptomatic before the accident. He sought treatment with Lenny Herman, the director of spinal trauma at Cedars-Sinai Hospital and underwent lumbar laminectomies at the L2-3, L4-5 and L5-S1 levels two months after the accident. Kelly claimed that as a result of the accident and surgery, his back will never be the same and he can no longer engage in skiing, golf and the many activities he had previously enjoyed.
Facts:
At 9 a.m. on Sept. 21, 2004, plaintiff Jason Kelly, a 52-year-old self-employed businessman, was driving his Porsche eastbound on the five-lane IHS in Sacramento, CA, when he was involved in a collision with ABC Supermarkets employee Red Merk and XYZ Towing Inc., employee Kent Cameron.
Claiming lower back injuries, Kelly sued ABC Supermarkets and XYZ Towing, Inc., for vicarious liability. In addition, Kelly named Cameron and Merk for motor vehicle negligence.
Cameron was driving his company’s tow truck, changing lanes from the far left and caused Merk to swerve from his lane into Kelly, who was in the middle lane.
Merk claimed that Cameron was driving erratically, that he signaled to move right from the far left lane, when he abruptly moved into Merk’s lane causing the accident. Merk had no time to stop or slow and swerved into the plaintiff’s vehicle. Cameron, 18, had only been driving for three months. He claimed that he had properly signaled and changed lanes when he observed Merk in his rearview mirror too close at approximately 75 mph and swerved into the plaintiff’s car.
Merk followed Cameron to the Haim Street off-ramp. He pulled him over and called the police.
For more information you are welcome to contact Sacramento personal injury lawyer, Moseley Collins.
His claimed past medical bills totaled $103,000 and his future medical bills were estimated at $5,000. In total, Kelly sought $600,000 from the jury.
According to Kelly, the accident aggravated a pre-existing condition that was not visible on his MRI.
According to the defense, Kelly was significantly impeached regarding the nature and extent of his prior injuries and treatment. He originally denied prior back complaints in answers to interrogatories. At deposition, he minimized the nature and number of episodes of prior accidents and treatment. His treating physician, Herman, admitted on cross-examination that he had never reviewed any of Kelly’s medical records in formulating his opinions, but claimed that the records were not necessary to conclude that his patient’s condition was worsened by the accident based on comparison of MRI’s taken before and after accident and Kelly’s symptomology. The defense further argued that Kelly, who had attended law school but was not a practicing attorney, was using “the system.”
For more information you are welcome to contact Sacramento personal injury lawyer, Moseley Collins.