Attorneys Settle Truck Accident Case despite Minor Property Damage

When you are involved in an accident causing only minor property damage, you may think that you cannot pursue a personal injury case – even if your injuries are severe. After all, you may think, the defense attorneys on any such case will surely argue that there is no way such severe injuries could result from an accident involving only minor property damage.

Nevertheless, the lack of serious property damage will not always doom a case. It has been scientifically proven that an accident causing only minor property damage can lead to serious injuries. Modern vehicles are designed to absorb heavy impacts. The lack of property damage following an accident can indicate that a vehicle did not do its job of absorbing impact. The force could have been transferred to the occupants of the vehicle, thus causing the serious injuries. If you are seriously injured in an accident involving only minor property damage, don’t automatically feel that you can’t pursue a personal injury case. The following story is a good example of the point.

Hollywood Truck Accident Results in Neck Injury

Our client was a 50-year-old woman. At the time of her accident, she was at a gas station in Hollywood, Florida. After filling her car with gas, our client proceeded to drive to the exit of the gas station. She sat at the exit and waited for traffic to clear so she could enter the street.

Located behind our client was a truck. The truck was stalled. Two men were working on the truck trying to get it restarted. At some point, the truck was restarted and began to roll forward. Unfortunately, the driver of the truck did not stop his vehicle in time, and the truck rolled into our client’s car. Our client’s vehicle rolled out into the street in front of the gas station, only narrowly avoiding being hit by oncoming vehicles. Because the truck had only rolled into our client’s car, there was only minor damage to our client’s vehicle.

In spite of the small amount of property damage, our client’s neck immediately began to hurt after the accident. Within a week, our client visited the office of a chiropractor in the area. The chiropractor prescribed a strict regimen of chiropractic treatment. Our client was forced to go to the doctor’s office multiple times a week for several months. Because she was a working woman, this was not easy for our client.

After several months of chiropractic treatment, our client’s neck was still not better. Based on this, the chiropractor referred our client to an orthopedic surgeon. That second doctor ordered MRI’s of our client’s neck. The MRI results revealed that our client had a large herniated disc in her neck. The surgeon recommended that our client immediately undergo a fusion procedure, a surgery wherein two vertebrae in our client’s neck would be “fused” together. Fearful of what would happen if she didn’t undergo the procedure, our client agreed to the surgery. The procedure was performed, and our client’s neck was opened up and parts of her spine fused together. This was clearly a nightmare for our client.

Hollywood Truck Accident Lawyers Dell and Schaefer Settle Case for $125,000

After our client’s surgery, we filed a lawsuit on her behalf. The defense attorneys representing the driver of the truck argued that there is no way our client could have been seriously injured in the accident. After all, the attorneys argued, there was only minor damage to the vehicles involved in the accident.

We responded that it is entirely possible for a person to be severely injured in an accident involving only minor property damage. After all, modern vehicles are designed to absorb impacts. A vehicle only slightly damaged in an accident indicates that the vehicle did not do its job: it did not absorb the impact. In such a situation, it is the occupants of the vehicle that absorb the impact. This was exactly what had happened in our client’s case. Her vehicle did not absorb the impact of the accident, instead transferring the force unto our client – who was seriously injured as a result.

We also argued that our client was an extremely hard worker, and her work had suffered as a result. For example, our client had won several “Employee of the Year Awards” at her employer, and she began to work much less at her job after the accident due to pain. The accident thus had a significant deleterious effect on our client’s career.

Using these arguments allowed us to settle our client’s case for $125,000. Our client was extremely happy with the result. In spite of the fact that the vehicles involved in her accident exhibited only minor damage, our client now had a large settlement to help pay medical bills and for her pain and suffering. If you are involved in an accident with only minor property damage, don’t automatically think that you cannot pursue a personal injury case. Serious injuries can result from accidents involving only minor property damage. Call the Truck Accident Attorneys at Dell & Schaefer. We will maximize the compensation you receive due to your serious injuries.