Medical Expert Key To $3,500,000 Settlement Of Motor Vehicle Accident Lawssuit
In the event that a car accident claim involves comparatively minor injuries and will probably be resolved with a rather modest settlement or award the economics of the case make it improbable that either the plaintiff or the defendant will retain an expert witness. The cost of using an expert witness could easily be more than the amount likely to be recovered in the case. When the lawsuit involves serious injuries and a recovery would likely be significant things change. At this time whether or not the plaintiff has an expert may not only make the difference on whether the victim is successful in the lawsuit but might also be the key issue in whether to move forward with the claim at all.
Consider the following reported lawsuit. The car involved in this car accident case was operated by an older gentleman. He somehow lost control of the car, struck a 40 year-old male who was riding his bicycle along the bike path adjacent to the road, then hit a telephone pole. The driver was found to have suffered heavy trauma to the chest in the accident. He died at the scene of the accident before the arrival of first responders.
The bicyclist suffered a head injury that placed him into a coma and caused irreversible brain damage. After awaking from the coma it was obvious that he would never be able to go back to his own house. He will probably never be able to return to work either. He will probably require life care on a continuous basis because of his disability. He will also probably have to reside in a rehabilitation facility or institution for the rest of his life. The cost of his medical treatment up to the time was more than $500,000.
It was discovered that the driver had had a heart attack. The defense used this information to claim that the reason the driver lost control of the car was because of the heart attack. As this constituted a medical emergency the defense argued that the driver had not been negligent and thus the plaintiff was not owed any money. With (1) the availability of enough insurance for a significant recovery, (1) a lifelong devastating injury to the victim and his family, and (2) the defense denying liability by taking the position that a medical emergency caused the accident, this was one of those cases where the lawyer needs to seek out an expert who will be able to definitively show liability.