$300,000 Settlement – Utility Worker Suffers Brain Injury and Severe Injuries When Negligent Driver Hits Him in Construction Zone

In April 2019, our 24-year-old client’s morning at work quickly turned tragic when he was seriously injured. Our client was working as a flagger for a construction crew in Ashland County, Ohio when the accident occurred. The road our client and his team were working on had been marked as a construction zone, and a utility vehicle was placed on the roadway with flashing lights. It was a clear day out and the presence of a construction zone was clearly visible to oncoming traffic. Our client was also wearing a reflective safety vest and helmet when the accident occurred. Unfortunately, all the safety precautions taken by our client and his employer were not enough to prevent the accident from occurring.

An elderly man, who suffered from a vision impairment and was distracted by adjusting the visor in his SUV, failed to see the construction zone until it was too late. Swerving to avoid hitting the utility truck, the defendant hit our client at a speed of at least 40 miles per hour. The impact sent our client flying through the air and caused his helmet to fall off his head. He violently landed headfirst onto the concrete, causing him to lose consciousness. Our client was taken via life-flight to an area hospital to treat his extensive and traumatic injuries.

At the hospital, our client was diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury, a skull fracture, multiple facial fractures, and fractures to his left leg and ankle. Our client remained in the hospital for the next week and was required to undergo multiple painful surgeries to treat his injuries. Once he was discharged from the hospital, our client went to an inpatient rehabilitation facility to continue his recovery.

This was a horrible accident that changed our client’s life forever because of a careless distracted driver. Our firm was contacted to assist our client with his recovery from this traumatic incident and our dedicated team worked tirelessly to ensure that he got the justice he deserved. Through negotiations, we were successful in avoiding litigation and obtaining a settlement for our client. Not only did we secure a policy limits settlement offer from the at-fault driver’s insurance, but we tripled that recovery by arguing that an underinsured motorist policy issued to our client’s employer applied to cover his damages beyond what the at-fault driver’s policy covered. While our client can never be made completely whole due to the injuries he sustained, the substantial settlement we secured for him will go a long way to account for his pain and suffering and help him as he moves forward.