Student Compensated More Than $9,000,000 In Jury Award For Brain Injury Sustained In Car Accident
By: J. Hernandez
Submitted: 2010-12-03 00:37:24 | Word Count: 698
Parents generally assume that their kids will not be in danger just by going to school. It is not in their world view that their son or daughter will be injured in a motor vehicle accident as he or she goes across the street right in front of their school. Indeed, don't towns and counties where the school is located ensure that there are signs lowering the speed limit in zones next to schools and controlling intersections close to the school with stop signs and traffic lights? Further, don't drivers naturally take more precautions in school zones? Do not be so sure.
In one documented lawsuit, a fifteen year old boy was crossing the street while on his way to his high school when he was hit by a car. The young man was in a crosswalk when the accident happened. The impact left him with a brain injury and he wound up in a coma for several weeks and then had to undergo rehabiliation therapy. He was left with problems with his memory, his speech and decision making. He also experienced physical disabilities including balance and walking. When he went back to school, he needed to be enrolled in special education as he was unable to keep up with regular classes. The expense spent on his treatment to that point amounted to nearly three quarters of a million dollars.
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He will require life-care for the remainder of his life which is calculated to cost approximately $3,500,000. Furthermore, he will now not be able to do many jobs and so he will lose somewhere around $2,200,000 in lost earning capacity. A loss of earning capacity is often measured as the difference in the income he was anticipated to have had if he had not been hurt and the lesser income he will probably be able to earn due to the limitations of his accident related disabilities.
The law firm that represented the young man initiated a suit on behalf of the student's parents, both individually and on their son's behalf, naming both the driver and the county as defendants. The lawsuit against the county was based on the negligent maintenance of a school zone mid-block intersection that was not properly controlled and that was zoned with spped limit that was too fast. The driver did not deny that she was at fault yet maintained that the county and, yes, the victim were also to blame. The city, in turn, claimed they were not liable either and that it was the driver and the victim who were to blame.
To work up the case the law firm retained an accident reconstruction expert, a physician specializing in in pediatric neurology and traumatic brain injury, a life-care planning specialist, and an economist. The law firm reported that they ended up going to trial on the case. The jury reportedly determined that the driver was 79% at fault, the county was twenty percent at fault, and the student was one percent responsible for the accident. According to the report by the law firm, at the conclusion of the trial, the jury returned a verdict for $9.14 million for the student and his parents.
The jury was obviously confident that there were things that not just the driver but also the county ought to have done which would have avoided this accident. Perhaps every county ought to consider this matter as an example of a foreseeable and preventable tragedy and take measures to make the locale around their school safe for children. And possibly in doing the right thing they may prevent another terrible accident that extensive changes the future of a young person. And they might in addition reduce their risk of a big adverse jury award.
Author Resource:-
Joseph Hernandez is an Attorney accepting personal injury cases. To learn more about how a pedestrian accident lawyer can help you and about other vehicle accident matters visit the websites
