Kallie Cox//November 22, 2024//
A texting truck driver killed a pedestrian and seriously injured another driver who obtained a $5,000,000 payout in a confidential settlement.
Ryan Bradley of Bradley Law Personal Injury Lawyers, the plaintiff’s attorney, said his client’s car had broken down on the side of the highway when the tractor-trailer driver veered off the roadway, onto the shoulder, and struck her vehicle.
The plaintiff sought medical care the next day when the pain in her head and shoulder was not fading.
“She was diagnosed with a concussion as well as left shoulder pain,” Bradley said. “Subsequently, she had persistent headache and neck/shoulder pain with bilateral upper extremity radiculopathy. Despite physical therapy and radiofrequency ablation she continued to have symptoms resulting in an anterior cervical discectomy and fusion of C4-5.”
Bradley believes this could be one of the largest settlements in Missouri history for a single-disc fusion.
“I am unaware of a single [disc fusion] getting that level of compensation,” he said.
Because the driver clearly violated the law by using his phone while driving, the case would have been appealing to a jury, which is why Bradley was able to obtain their requested settlement of $5 million compared to the $1.7 million offered by the defense.
The settlement should make trucking companies “rightfully scared,” of breaking federal motor carrier safety regulations in Missouri, Bradley said.
Attorney for the defense, Michael Judy of Dysart Taylor did not respond to a request for comment.
The plaintiff in the case is relatively young, Bradley said, and this settlement will ensure she doesn’t have to rely on public assistance as she continues to seek medical care in the future.
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- Amount of verdict, judgment or settlement: $5,000,000
- Type of action: Settlement/Motor Vehicle Collision
- Venue: Cass County Circuit Court
- Case Number/Date: 06/18/2024
- Judge: Stacey Lett
- Plaintiffs’ Experts: Mark Griesemer, physician
- Injuries: back, spine
- Special Damages: 308,894.16 in past medical; $1,240,133,01 in future medical
- Last Pretrial Demand: $5,000,000
- Caption: Confidential v. Confidential
- Plaintiffs’ Attorneys: Ryan Bradley of Bradley Law Personal Injury Lawyers
- Defendant’s Attorneys: Michael Judy of Dysart Taylor
This article credit to MOLawyersMedia