On September 7, 2017, DLG’s Client, a 54-year-old university professor, was out for a bicycle ride around his neighborhood in Elk Grove, California. As he traveled in a bicycle lane, a driver came from behind him, veered into the bicycle lane, and struck our client. He flew up on the hood of the car, struck his head on the windshield, and was thrown violently face-down down in the roadway. The client was not wearing a helmet and although adults are not required to wear bicycle helmets in California, this opened the door for the defense to argue that the bicyclist was comparatively at fault in the collision.
The Defendant driver worked for a large pharmaceutical company and was driving a company car at the time of the crash. However, the driver had been off work on long-term disability as a result of a back injury. As the result of recent back surgery, the driver was taking large quantities of opioid pain medications, along with Xanax for anxiety issues. Though a field sobriety test was inconclusive, a blood draw revealed high levels of hydrocodone and benzodiazepine. Ultimately, the driver pled no contest to DUI.
Our client was taken by ambulance to a hospital emergency room and diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury with multiple subarachnoid hemorrhages. The brain injury resulted in a fluid accumulation inside the structures of the brain (hydrocephalus), causing a dangerous spike in intracranial pressure. This condition required the placement of a shunt to relieve the pressure by draining excess cerebrospinal fluid from the brain into the abdominal cavity. During the course of his treatment, the client developed multiple complications and had to endure procedures to remove, realign, and replace the shunt. His brain injury resulted in personality changes, headaches, and some impaired memory.
The client retained a local solo practitioner. The Defendant was represented by a large national defense firm with over 1,000 attorneys. Once the initial non-expert discovery was complete, the Defendants offered $1,200,000 to settle the case. The offer was far below the value of the case, and it appeared that trial would be the only way to obtain full justice for the client. So, as frequently happens, the attorney handling the case for the plaintiff brought in the Demas Law Group prepares the case for trial and brings in a just verdict. Bringing catastrophic injury cases to trial is what DLG does best, and we are always willing to assist our fellow practitioners who may not have the time, experience, or resources to do so.
Though the defense conceded that our client suffered a traumatic brain injury requiring the placement of a shunt, they disputed almost everything else. The defense claimed that our client was riding his bicycle outside the bicycle lane, that driver had drugs in his system but was not “impaired,” that our client would not have suffered a brain injury if he had been wearing a bicycle helmet, and that his cognitive impairments were being exaggerated. In an attempt to support these claims, the defense hired 9 retained experts (accident reconstruction, biomechanics, toxicology, neuropsychology, neurosurgery, medical billing, life expectancy, forensic economics, and vocational rehabilitation).
Despite best efforts to deny our client justice through investigation, preparation, and rigorous examination at deposition, DLG systematically dismantled each defense. Pushed to the courthouse steps, the defense finally recognized that DLG would not back down and agreed to pay $5.23 million to settle the case.
