In this particular personal injury case, our client was a passenger in a car being driven by her husband. On August 11, 2016, they were traveling on Route 360 and approached the intersection of Meherrin Road (Route 630 in Prince Edward County, Virginia). At the same time, the defendant was driving on Meherrin Road approaching the same intersection and failed to stop at the dual stop signs. The defendant drove into the intersection colliding with the passenger side of our client’s car. . This caused our client’s car to spin out of control, run off the road, and slam the rear of her vehicle into one or more trees.
Our client suffered multiple physical injuries as a result of the crash. She tore the labrum in her left shoulder, suffered an injury to the disk at the L5–S1 level in her low back, and sustained injuries to her left knee.
Prior to the crash, our client suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (“PTSD”) due to a traumatic experience she witnessed as a firefighter in 2011. She was being treated and her PTSD was well managed using Zoloft. As a result of this crash, her pre-existing PTSD was exacerbated.
Her orthopedic injuries were treated by numerous doctors, and she received multiple injections in her shoulder, back, and knee to help mitigate the pain. She also completed physical therapy treatment. Ultimately, her doctors determined she needed multiple surgeries to treat her injuries. She underwent a laminectomy and fusion at the L5-S1 level of her spine, a surgical repair of her labrum in her left shoulder, and an arthroscopic repair to her left knee.
The defendant driver denied being at fault because she believed our client’s husband was speeding at the time of the crash. Despite this accusation, the investigating officer did not issue a ticket to our client’s husband for speeding, and we argued that even if her husband was speeding, the crash would not have happened if the defendant driver had kept a proper lookout and stopped at the posted stop sign. We contended that the defendant driver was liable for the crash because she failed to stop and exercise reasonable care before entering the highway.
A settlement conference was held with Hon. Paul Peatross, Jr. in November 2021, where The Mottley Law Firm was able to recover a $180,000 settlement for our client. The case was set for trial in the Circuit Court of Prince Edward County the following month.
