Man Suffers Serious Shoulder Injury When Rear-Ended By Negligent Driver
Our client was 36-years-old with a history of prior shoulder problems when he was rear-ended by a negligent driver in downtown Toledo, Ohio. After giving our client his insurance information, the other driver left the scene before police could be called. Our client went directly to the emergency room for treatment and then followed up by reporting the incident to police.
Although wearing his seatbelt at the time of the rear-end collision, our client was violently jolted in his seat as a result of the impact from the other vehicle. Immediately after the crash, he suffered a headache, shoulder pain, neck pain, and lower back pain. He was diagnosed with numerous conditions at the emergency room, including reflex sympathetic dystrophy of his left arm and shoulder. Our client had to undergo aggressive physical therapy and later aquatic therapy, but these failed to provide him with relief. An MRI eventually revealed swelling over our client’s humeral head and in other areas around his shoulder. Having found not relief from therapy, our client followed up at the University of Toledo Medical Center, where he was finally diagnosed with a rotator cuff injury. He continued to treat with a pain management doctor due to ongoing excruciating pain that significantly limited his ability to carry on normal daily activities. Through pain management injections, our client was able to find some relief. Unfortunately, the type of injections performed posed additional significant health risks such that our client eventually chose to live with constant pain rather than risk injury to his carotid artery.
Our client was a physically fit, active middle-aged man at the time of this rear-end car crash. After the collision, he experienced serious limitations in all physical activities including his ability to play with grandchildren. No longer able to perform his prior job, he depended on his wife for financial support. On some days, he was in so much pain that he was completely unable to use his left arm.
The at-fault driver’s had insurance, but the policy limits for his auto liability coverage were the state minimum of $25,000 per person. Luckily, our client had uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage under his own auto policy with a different insurance company. By pursuing a claim against our client’s own insurer in addition to the claim against the person who rear-ended him, we were able to secure an additional $65,000 for our client, bringing his total settlement to $90,000. Although our client will continue to live with pain, we were able to fight hard against all potential parties to maximize his recovery in this situation.
