Motorized Bicycle/Commercial Truck Accident

Client Expectation: $50,000
Insurance Company Offer: $75,000
Snow Law Firm Settlement: $175,000

Case Description

A 63-year-old man was operating his electric bicycle along the roadway, when a Mack commercial truck and trailer owned by Cape Cod Aggregates Corporation and driven by an employee attempted to pass him and knocked him onto an embankment. He was taken to the hospital immediately. After his evaluation and recommended follow-up by the emergency room physician, the bicyclist sought consultations, treatments, diagnostic testing, surgery, and therapy during a one-year period for what was initially diagnosed as a sprain of the right wrist, contusion of the right wrist, and contusion of the left shoulder. One month after the incident, the bicyclist continued to complain of right wrist pain, left shoulder pain, pain in his right hand at the base of his thumb, and upper back pain which radiated in between his shoulders.

As his thumb pain continued to worsen, he consulted with a hand surgeon who assessed his condition as scapholunate advanced collapse of the right wrist, sprain of the metacarpophalangeal joint of the right thumb, a right thumb MP joint tear involving the UCL/RCL, and right wrist stage 3 SLAC wrist osteoarthritis. He underwent a right thumb metacarpophalangeal joint ulnar collateral ligament tear surgery with an internal brace followed by physical and occupational therapy for five months.

Legal Issues

Liability rested squarely with the negligence of the commercial truck driver. Snow Law Firm obtained and thoroughly reviewed all accident reports, medical records and medical bills along with wage and salary verification and disability notes. Nine months after the incident, the bicyclist incurred reasonable and necessary medical expenses in excess of $27,000. At the time of the incident, he was employed as a cleaner. Unable to work for 55 weeks, he sustained $20,500 in lost income.

The insurance company initially offered $75,000. However, at that stage of the bicyclist’s recovery, it was unclear if his injury would be permanently debilitating.

To ensure that the bicyclist would be compensated rightfully, Snow Law Firm calculated the potential damages of an injury of permanence for his client, aged 63. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Life Expectancy Tables, the bicyclist could live another 18 years. If the bicyclist’s injury was of permanence, his daily activities and employment opportunities would be adversely affected for all of those years, and the value of the case would likely rise to between $250,000 and $350,000. Snow Law Firm wanted to be sure his client wasn’t settling for the insurance company’s first offer or settling for less than the potential value of his claim.

While it took a year for the bicyclist to recover, fortunately, his injury was not permanently debilitating.

Outcome

A settlement in the amount of $175,000 was awarded to the bicyclist.