{"id":5323,"date":"2010-06-07T10:10:51","date_gmt":"2010-06-07T17:10:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.aitkenlaw.com\/news\/?p=321"},"modified":"2010-06-07T10:10:51","modified_gmt":"2010-06-07T17:10:51","slug":"head-on","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aitkenlaw.com\/newsite\/2010\/06\/07\/head-on\/","title":{"rendered":"$940,000: Auto Versus Auto Head-On Collision Leads To Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>CASE DESCRIPTION<\/strong>:&nbsp; Defendant was speeding down a slopping curve in a light rain when he lost control crossed the center line resulting in accident with the Plaintiff.&nbsp; Plaintiff sued for damages to recover medical expenses, loss of income and other costs related to her post-traumatic stress disorder.<\/p>\n<p><strong>RESULT:&nbsp; $940,000.00 total settlement<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>On January 2, 1998, at or about 11:10 a.m., Plaintiff was involved in an automobile collision on U.S. Highway 101 in Del Norte County California.&nbsp; A 1995 Black Toyota Camry operated by Defendant Kozuma headed northbound on US 101.&nbsp; The Defendant approached Hamilton Road at a speed between 65-67 miles per hour (as per Plaintiff&#8217;s accident reconstructionist).&nbsp;&nbsp; Plaintiff was the belted driver of a 1993 Silver 530i BMW, southbound on US 101 in the S-2 lane, approaching Hamilton Road, at 45 miles per hour.<\/p>\n<p>It was lightly raining at the time.&nbsp; As Defendant Kozuma&#8217;s vehicle entered a downward sloping curve, the rear end of his vehicle started to rotate counter-clockwise and it then slid across the roadway center line and into the southbound lanes.&nbsp; Plaintiff was unable to avoid the vehicle in time, and a collision ensued.&nbsp; Defendant Kozuma&#8217;s front end struck the left front and left side of Plaintiff&#8217;s vehicle, before each vehicle slid off onto the shoulder.<\/p>\n<p>Plaintiff brought suit to recover his medical expenses and loss of earnings.&nbsp; As a result of the accident Plaintiff sustained rib fractures on her left side from her 4th through her 12th rib, a collapsed lung and was hospitalized for one week.&nbsp; In addition the Plaintiff developed Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) which led to memory, concentration and headache problems.&nbsp; These problems interfered with her performance as a mortgage broker, ultimately affecting her income.<\/p>\n<p>The Defense denied any permanent or organic injury to the brain, and claimed all of Plaintiff&#8217;s problems were emotional and could be alleviated with a short treatment regimen.&nbsp; The Defense supported their position by pointing out that Plaintiff denied head injury at scene.&nbsp; Also all objective tests of brain injury (MRIs, CT-Scans, etc.) taken during her hospital stay immediately following the incident revealed no abnormalities.<\/p>\n<p><strong>TYPE OF CASE<\/strong>:&nbsp; Auto v. Auto<\/p>\n<p><strong>INJURIES<\/strong>:&nbsp; Plaintiff sustained rib fractures on her left side from her 4th through her 12th rib, and a collapsed lung.&nbsp; Plaintiff was hospitalized for one week following the collision.&nbsp; Plaintiff developed Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) as a result, which led to memory, concentration and headache problems.<\/p>\n<p><strong>DATE &amp; LOCATION OF INCIDENT<\/strong>:&nbsp; On 1\/2\/98 at 11:00 a.m. on the U.S. Highway 101 in Del Norte County, California.<\/p>\n<p><strong>PLAINTIFF&#8217;S AGE<\/strong>:&nbsp; N\/A<\/p>\n<p><strong>OCCUPATION<\/strong>:&nbsp; N\/A<\/p>\n<p><strong>PLAINTIFF&#8217;S ATTORNEYS<\/strong>:<br \/>\nWylie A. Aitken &amp; Darren O. Aitken<br \/>\nAITKEN *&nbsp;AITKEN&nbsp;* COHN<br \/>\n<em>For Plaintiff \u2013 Jane Roe<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>DEFENDANTS&#8217; ATTORNEY<\/strong>:<br \/>\nPeter Dubrawski<br \/>\nHAIGHT, BROWN &amp; BONESTEEL<br \/>\n<em>For Defendants \u2013 Kozuma &amp; Canadian Autoparts Toyota, Inc.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>DEFENDANT INSURANCE CO.<\/strong>:&nbsp; ICBC &amp; Great American Insurance Companies<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>CASE DESCRIPTION:&nbsp; Defendant was speeding down a slopping curve in a light rain when he lost control crossed the center line resulting in accident with the Plaintiff.&nbsp; Plaintiff sued for damages to recover medical expenses, loss of income and other costs related to her post-traumatic stress disorder. RESULT:&nbsp; $940,000.00 total settlement On January 2, 1998,&#8230; <a class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aitkenlaw.com\/newsite\/2010\/06\/07\/head-on\/\">read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[826],"class_list":["post-5323","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-verdicts-settlements","tag-vehicular-accidents"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aitkenlaw.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5323","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aitkenlaw.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aitkenlaw.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aitkenlaw.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aitkenlaw.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5323"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.aitkenlaw.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5323\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aitkenlaw.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5323"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aitkenlaw.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5323"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aitkenlaw.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5323"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}