$365,000 Settlement For Serious Injuries To Passenger In A Single Car Accident
About the Case
Our client was a passenger in the right rear seat of a Honda Civic traveling on I-5 near San Clemente, California. The car’s driver and two other passengers were classmates of our client at UC San Diego; the four women were driving from the campus to Disneyland. Driving at an excessive speed and eating a snack, the driver did not notice a car to her front moving into her lane. The driver could only swerve to the left and brake hard to avoid a collision. In doing so, she lost control of the Honda, which veered across the left edge shoulder, smashing into the center concrete barrier.
All four of the car’s occupants were injured in the accident. The CHP investigated and cited the driver as the sole cause of the accident. An ambulance was called to the accident site-and the EMTs, after evaluating and administering first-aid to the four women, released them to seek additional medical treatment.
Case Facts
Experiencing extreme pain, and being unable to walk, our client was taken to Kaiser Hospital emergency department later that day. A physical examination showed facial contusions and abrasions, and a seat belt contusion. She described pain in the back/rib area as well as in the neck/head. CT imaging revealed a scalp hematoma. An additional CT scan showed a retropulsion L2 fracture causing spinal stenosis.
Transferred by ambulance to Sharp Memorial Hospital, our client was admitted for closer examination of the lumbar fracture and fragmental retropulsion, and then was fitted with a thoracic-lumbar-sacral brace and evaluated for possible surgery. Upon discharge, she was prescribed oxycodone to alleviate the pain she continued to experience.
Attending classes and pursuing her academic course work became untenable because of the physical restraint imposed by the full-torso brace (not just torso, not sure what to call it) and the discomfort of the constant pain, so our client withdrew from college and returned to her home. She was followed as an outpatient at Kaiser Hospital San Jose.
Accident Attorneys at GJEL were retained by the injured college student to help her pursue her claim for damages. In order for our client to receive the maximum benefits in a settlement with the adverse driver’s insurance company, which also had to reach legal accommodations with the two other passengers, GJEL partner Jim Larsen fully developed the evidentiary support of the medical treatment to, and expenses incurred by, our client. The monetary recovery was further enhanced by attorney Larsen’s negotiation to obtain a significant compromise of the medical liens.
| Insurance Company Names: | Farmers Insurance |
| Police Report | CHP |
| Vehicle Types | 2009 Honda Civic |
| Accident Locations: | I-5 near San Clemente, CA |
| Hospitals and Medical Centers Visited | Kaiser San Diego Medical Center Kaiser Hospital San Jose |
| Types of Injuries (Specific as possible) | Burst fracture L2 with retropulsion of fracture fragments, closed head injury, scalp hematoma |
Andy Gillin received his Bachelor’s Degree from the University of California at Berkeley and his law degree from the University of Chicago. He is the managing partner of GJEL Accident Attorneys and has written and lectured in the field of plaintiffs’ personal injury law for numerous organizations. Since 1972 he has been helping seriously injured victims throughout northern California fight & win their personal injury cases. Andy is one of the top awarded & recognized wrongful death lawyers in northern California.