Articles Posted in Neck Injury Cases

by

When Joyce Fogle, 57, slowed her car for traffic on a highway, Taylor Merritt’s vehicle rear-ended Fogle’s vehicle. Fogle was taken to a hospital where she underwent a CT scan of her brain and x-rays of her knees. She received conservative treatment for back pain and later underwent surgery at L4-5, followed by physical therapy.

Fogle continued to suffer residual pain, for which she takes over-the-counter medication. Her medical expenses totaled over $145,000.

She sued Merritt, alleging she was following too closely.

Continue reading

by

Reinaldo Cubillos was a passenger in a box truck that was stopped in traffic on a highway. A log truck driven by Jesus Ajete Perez rear-ended the Cubillos truck, which then hit the back of a minivan. Cubillos suffered aggravation of a pre-existing herniation at C5-6 and a Hill-Sachs lesion related to a dislocated shoulder. The Hill-Sachs lesion is an osseous defect of the humeral head that is typically associated with anterior shoulder instability.

Cubillos underwent physical therapy arthroscopy and surgical fusion surgery but continues to suffer from collision-related pain.

He sued Kevin SL Transport LLC, the log truck’s owner, and Perez, alleging improper lookout and negligence.  The lawsuit claimed undisclosed medical expenses but no lost income.

Continue reading

by

Bahram Yahyavi was driving a Dodge Charger in the course of his employment with a car dealership when his vehicle was struck by a forklift driven by a then-employee of Capriati Construction Corp. The forklift’s forks penetrated the car’s front end from the passenger’s side, causing the front windshield to cave into the car.

Yahyavi suffered a severe neck injury that required conservative care and later a five-level cervical fusion.

His past medical expenses were more than $491,000. His past lost wages and lost earnings capacity was proved to be $300,000.

Continue reading

by

Joao Junior’s car was stopped in a line of three vehicles when a car driven by Sharon Graham rear-ended the last vehicle in the line. Junior, whose car was destroyed, received treatment for a cervical strain after the crash. He was diagnosed with a herniated disk in his neck and underwent surgery more than a year after this incident. Junior is now 60 and continues to suffer pain related to this incident.

Junior offered to resolve the case with the defendant Graham’s insurer for the policy limits of $100,000. The insurer, however, initially offered $14,500, which Junior rejected.

Junior then sued Graham, alleging that she had caused the crash while under the influence of prescription and non-prescription drugs. The lawsuit did not claim lost income.

Continue reading

by

On Oct. 12, 2010, the plaintiff Christina Marshall was driving southbound on Route 71 in Ottawa, Ill.  When stopped behind a line of backed up traffic waiting for a school bus to drop off children, the driver traveling behind Marshall slammed on his brakes and swerved his van onto the northbound lane to avoid striking the plaintiff’s vehicle. The driver behind the van, the defendant, Callie K. Steith, 27, also braked but was unable to stop in time and rear-ended the Marshall vehicle.

Marshall, 25, contended that the impact caused a herniated C5-6 disc, which led to an anterior cervical discectomy and fusion.

The defendant argued that Marshall made an unnecessary sudden stop, the view of Steith of the roadway in traffic was obscured because it was downhill, the crash was low speed with minimal impact and Marshall suffered only a neck strain.

Continue reading

by

Julie Sheridan injured her right shoulder, right knee, left arm and the back of her neck after she was involved in a three-car crash at the intersection of Ogden Avenue and River Drive in Lisle, Ill., in February 2010. After the crash, Sheridan refused an ambulance and did not receive medical treatment that day. Instead she drove 300 miles to her home in Union, Mo., and saw a doctor there for symptoms one day later.

She received pain and anti-inflammatory medication for her symptoms, which she said did not relieve her pain. An orthopedic surgeon who saw Sheridan in May 2010 tried but failed to discover her reported numbness, tingling and decreased strength.

The orthopedic surgeon testified during the trial that Sheridan had full range of motion in her neck and left shoulder, normal grip strength in her left hand, normal reflexes in her left arm and proper sensation throughout her left hand. The orthopedic surgeon could not identify the cause of her symptoms.

Continue reading

by

Marilyn Kayman was injured in a car crash on Jan. 30, 2009 in which her car was struck from behind by the car driven by the defendant Janice Matthews Rasheed. Kayman went to the emergency room at Hinsdale Hospital shortly after the crash but was discharged the same day. She continued to have neck pain and other symptoms.

Kayman visited her family practice physician on Feb. 4, 2009. She was subsequently referred to an orthopedic surgeon and was treated between 2009 and 2012. At the recommendation of the orthopedic surgeon, Kayman underwent physical therapy and was also prescribed medical devices to use at home to help alleviate her pain.

Kayman filed a lawsuit against Rasheed claiming the accident had caused her neck and back pain, headaches and other symptoms. Rasheed admitted negligence in striking Kayman’s car, but disputed the extent to which the 2009 collision caused Kayman’s alleged injuries.

Continue reading

by

On Sept. 9, 2008, the plaintiff, Kevin Burkhamer, was injured when he was struck by a car driven by the defendant, Mel Richard Krumske. Burkhamer filed a lawsuit against Krumske claiming that he injured his hip, elbow, shoulder, left hand, neck and back. Burkhamer was employed as an ironworker and excavator. The plaintiff’s total medical bills were just under $45,000.

At the jury trial, the defendant Krumske admitted negligence and did not attend the trial. During direct examination of Burkhamer, he was asked if he ever had a conversation with the defendant. After the plaintiff responded no, the defendant’s lawyer objected. The trial judge sustained the objection on the basis of relevance. The plaintiff then was asked if he was aware that defendant had admitted negligence just before trial. When the plaintiff answered yes, the trial court sustained defendant’s objection and ordered the jury to “disregard the mention of the timeline.” The plaintiff Burkhamer was then asked if the defendant called him to apologize. Defense counsel objected on the basis of relevance, and the trial court granted his request for a sidebar.

At the sidebar, the defense counsel argued that the plaintiff’s line of questioning was designed to inflame the jury and moved for a mistrial. The court agreed that the line of questioning was improper and sustained the objection trial and the judge took the motion for mistrial under advisement. “I’m going to let us proceed and then we will. I’ll be able to determine this, of course the point is cited at the present. However, it may be possible that future conduct would be an appropriate consideration on my ruling on this motion . . .”

Continue reading

by

Scott Rankin, 37, was riding his bicycle on a two-lane rural, nonresidential road when he collided with the back of a United Parcel Service truck parked partially on the road. Rankin suffered serious injuries, the worst of which resulted in incomplete quadriplegia. He had been a band director earning about $60,000 a year, but now is unable to work.

Rankin filed suit against UPS claiming negligence per se for its driver’s violation of the Texas Transportation Code. The statute prohibits trucks such as a UPS vehicle in nonresidential districts from leaving their vehicles on the main part of the highway unless it is impractical to do so.

Rankin alleged that UPS endangered others on the road by choosing not to train its drivers on applicable parking laws in an effort to promote driver efficiency and safety.

Continue reading

by

On Feb. 2, 2012, Elliot Gonzalez was walking northbound across Erie Street at May Street in Chicago when he was hit in the crosswalk by Patrick Kennely’s pickup truck. Kennely was a commercial property manager and was making a left turn from northbound May Street onto Erie at the time of the accident.

The plaintiff, Elliot Gonzalez, 19 at the time, sustained three transverse process vertebral fractures, a sprained ankle, contusions and bruises. His medical bills totaled $32,627. He also missed a week and half of work as a cell phone salesman.

Kennely admitted liability but contested the plaintiff’s claims of damages. His attorney cross-examined Gonzalez’s treating physician and orthopedic surgeon for 4 ½ hours regarding the care and treatment he gave to the plaintiff. The jury apparently was persuaded by that round of cross-examination because its verdict of $29,565 was less than the offer to settle the case, which was $45,000.

Continue reading