Type of Action: Motor Vehicle Negligence, Truck or Tractor Trailer Wreck, Violation of Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations
Injuries Alleged: Initial injuries included femur fracture, tibial plateau fracture, cuboid fracture, talar neck fracture and SI joint fracture. Plaintiff sustained a partial permanent disability of her ankle (10%), knee (10%) and an additional 5% PPD for her leg based upon reflex sympathetic dystrophy.
Name of Case and County: *Confidential to protect Client’s Interest*
Date of Mediation: November 25, 2002
Name of Mediator: Marshall A. Gallop, Jr., Rocky Mount, NC
Special Damages: Past Medical Expenses Incurred $261,922.00
Verdict or Settlement: Settlement
Amount: $1,244,636.00
Most Helpful Experts (Name, Title, City): Fred C. Tyner, Accident Reconstruction Engineer, Raleigh, NC; Cynthia L. Wilhelm, Life Care Planner, Chapel Hill, NC; Medical Illustrations by Mark Valentine of The Visual Advantage in Knightdale
Lawyers for the Plaintiff: William J. Thomas, II and Jay H. Ferguson of Thomas, Ferguson, & Beskind, LLP (Durham), 919-682-5648, fax 919-688-7251
Description of Case, the Evidence Presented, the Arguments Made, and/or Others Useful Information: Two truckers traveling side-by-side on I-85 in Durham County bumped, causing one of the trucks to veer across the median and into approaching traffic striking a car in which the plaintiff was a passenger. Plaintiff, a 22 year-old mother of an infant son, suffered severe injuries to her pelvis and legs. Evidence at the scene of the wreck showed that the truck in the right lane of travel veered out of his lane and bumped the truck in the left lane, causing the collision. Also, the electronic control module revealed the trucker that veered out of its lane was in violation of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations for driving more than permitted, contrary to his recorded driving time in his daily driving logs. This trucker’s insurer tendered its limits of coverage – which was apportioned with the driver of the car in which the plaintiff was riding.
Amount Actually Recovered for Client: 100% recovery, i.e., $1,244,636.00 (One Million Two Hundred Forty-Four Thousand Six Hundred and Six Dollars).