$19.5 MILLION CONFIDENTIAL SETTLEMENT IN AUTO INJURY CASE

Aitken* Aitken* Cohn partners Casey R. Johnson and Megan G. Demshki secured a significant settlement for their client after a hard-fought, six-year legal battle. The case involved a recent high school graduate and community college student who miraculously survived a head-on collision—considered statistically unsurvivable—while driving home late at night from her warehouse job in the Inland Empire.

The defendant driver was driving his employer’s vehicle and was subsequently arrested for driving under the influence. Their client suffered broken bones in both legs, both wrists, and her jaw, which required her to undergo numerous surgeries during her nearly month-long post-crash hospitalization. She also made a claim for PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). Thankfully, she did not suffer any spinal cord injury, paralysis or traumatic brain injury, and she has returned to work as a driver — now earning more than she was prior to the crash.

Three months after the crash, she was involved in another collision. On the way home from a physical therapy appointment necessitated by injuries suffered in the first crash, the vehicle in which she was riding was hit from behind at high speed, causing the vehicle to roll over several times. She was extracted from the vehicle by emergency responders, taken by ambulance to a local hospital, and admitted overnight for observation, with pain in her abdomen and feet. The secondary collision complicated damages causation– particularly with respect to the psychological injury claims, which were hotly disputed.

Her past medical bills (all paid by Medi-Cal) totaled $120,000. The defense valued future economic damages, including loss of earnings/earning capacity and future medical care costs, at less than $360,000. The matter resolved for $19.5 million just 10 days before trial and only after Casey and Megan overcame numerous motions for summary judgment and adjudication, completed expert discovery involving over twenty (20) designated experts, and completed all pre-trial motions and oppositions.