Hermanson v. Durkee
Recent personal injury claim obtains a judgment of approximately $2.5 million.
Senior personal injury partner, Mike Yawney, took this claim to a month long trial in January 2014, with judgment being rendered in May 2014. It involved an 18 year old young male Plaintiff from Salmon Arm who suffered a severe traumatic brain injury while riding as a passenger in a motor vehicle being operated by his friend. Complicating factors were that the Plaintiff had just graduated from high school about 4 months prior to the accident and had not yet embarked on a specific career path. In addition, the Plaintiff appeared to be functioning well in the months after the accident and so the extent of the damage to his brain and his ability to function was also an issue.
Severe traumatic brain injuries are complex injuries to assess and quantify in terms of damages. Mr. Yawney and his personal injury team, including legal assistants and paralegals, spent 3 years putting the claim together, which involved multiple medical assessments with follow up, as well as team meetings with rehabilitation personnel, and in home meetings with the Plaintiff to monitor his ongoing progress and functioning. A range of different experts were retained from medical specialists in neurology, neuropsychology, physiatry and neurosurgery, to future care/rehab experts and economists to help assess the income losses suffered by the Plaintiff if he was unable to work.
After a hard fought, month long trial, we obtained judgment for the client of approximately $2.5 million and then negotiated the balance of other heads of damage to be determined. The claim in total was worth more than the available insurance limits. The result was well in excess of what the Defence offered on the claim prior to trial and represents the maximum amount the Plaintiff could have recovered, other than trying to take steps to recover anything in excess against the Defendant who caused the accident. The damages included $650,000.00 for future care, $1.8 million for future income loss, as well as $235,000.00 for pain and suffering and close to $100,000.00 in past income loss. There were also modest in-trust awards for the Plaintiff’s mother and girlfriend who had assisted him since the motor vehicle accident.
This claim is an example of how the skill and expertise of Nixon Wenger’s personal injury team was able to assist a client whose life was irreparably changed by a motor vehicle accident. With a severe traumatic brain injury claim, having the skill and expertise to recognize what needs to be done and most importantly, in managing the Plaintiff’s needs up to and through the point of trial, requires an expert legal team. Being prepared to go to trial and having the skill and expertise to back that up is how these claims are successfully concluded. Click here to read the Court Decision. Click here to read the Supplemental Reasons (cost of care).
