Kathy and Dave drove to Atlanta from Indiana to visit their son. Traffic started backing up on Interstate 85; so Kathy brought their vehicle to a safe stop. When Kathy looked in the rearview mirror, she saw that the driver behind them had not been paying attention and was coming at them at a high rate of speed. The impact was violent, but the visible damage to the cars was surprisingly little.
Both Kathy and Dave immediately complained of neck pain. Dave’s neck pain resolved within a few days, but unfortunately, Kathy’s did not and, in fact, got worse over time. She sought immediate medical care in Lawrenceville and followed up with her doctors back home in Indiana. Her medical treatment started with four months of physical therapy, but when Kathy’s pain did not alleviate, she had no choice but to undergo a C5/6 cervical fusion. Within a few months of that fusion, Kathy began experiencing difficulties with her right hand including loss of grip strength and numbness. These symptoms expanded to include right shoulder pain, right upper arm pain, right forearm pain, and right hand pain that felt like electrical shocks. Inevitably, Kathy ended up back in the neurosurgeon’s office and a second cervical fusion surgery was performed. Kathy’s medical expenses exceeded $110,000.
Kathy and Dave came to Mr. Render Freeman for his help with the mounting medical expenses. The at-fault driver’s insurance company stonewalled them on any pre-suit settlement discussions; so a lawsuit had to be filed in the Federal Court. After only ten (10) months of aggressive litigation, including sworn depositions of the parties and Indiana medical professionals, the insurance company finally caved in and agreed to pay $245,000 to Kathy and Dave.
