CONFIDENTIAL SETTLEMENT – 67-Year-Old Woman Suffers Spinal Compression Fractures Due to Failure to Yield Right-of-Way

Our client was traveling as her granddaughter’s passenger when another vehicle attempted a left-hand turn in front of them and caused a collision by failing to yield the right-of-way. This other driver was cited for failure to yield and attempted to fight the ticket by pleading not guilty and trying to cast fault on our client’s granddaughter. She was unsuccessful and was found guilty of failing to yield the right-of-way while turning left in front of oncoming traffic.

As a 67-year-old woman with severe osteoporosis, our client suffered a serious back injury as a result of the crash. Although she had prior issues with back pain, after this collision she experienced a significant increase in her pain and found herself unable to stand, bear weight, or carry out her normal life activities without pain. After many diagnostic tests, our client was discovered to have suffered compression fractures to multiple portions of her spine. These fractures were described as a significant collapse. To repair the fractures, she was forced to undergo a surgical procedure called kyphoplasty, which involved injecting cement to repair her spinal fractures. The injury caused our client a significant amount of pain and forced her to undergo complicated and painful medical procedures, and it limited her mobility as she was required to obtain a motorized scooter following her surgery.

When pre-suit negotiations failed, we filed a lawsuit on behalf of our client. In addition to suing the driver who failed to yield, we also sued her employer because she was on the job at the time of the collision. We filed an additional claim on behalf of our client’s husband because her injury also had a substantial impact on their relationship. After exchanging written discovery with the defendants, we were able to successfully negotiate an out of court settlement with defense counsel and resolved the case for a confidential amount of money.