$1,465,000 SETTLEMENT - 91-Year-Old Wheel Chair Passenger Dies in Motor Vehicle Crash

We represented the estate of a 91-year-old WWII combat veteran and POW survivor, who was a wheelchair passenger being transported in a wheelchair van. The first defendant caused a crash with a third vehicle that struck the wheelchair van head-on. We recovered all available insurance from the first defendant, which was $495,000. We then proceeded with a second claim against the owner and operator of the wheelchair van alleging that our client was not secured with a lap and shoulder belt at the time of the crash and the failure to secure our client led to his death. These defendants claimed our client was belted at the time of the crash. We relied on testimony from a first responder and experts in accident reconstruction, wheelchair securement, biomechanics, and pathology, to show that based on our client’s injuries and the lack of forensic evidence to the lap and shoulder belts, our client was not secured. The case against the wheelchair van owner and operator settled for $970,000 at mediation for a total recovery of $1,465,000 for our client.

 

* Please note that prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome in other matters or cases, as each case has a unique set of facts and circumstances.