Surgery on pre-existing condition required after accident – $606,979

A 43 year old Bakersfield school bus driver and a mother of two had her life change completely after being rear-ended far from home on the Santa Monica Freeway. Even though the rear impact was minor, everything changed for this woman after that crash.
This woman was what is called an “eggshell plaintiff.”

There were major areas of her body that were very susceptible to serious injury in the type of crash that she suffered. She was scheduled to have neck surgery before the accident, and the impact caused her to require two more neck surgeries. She already had chronically painful hips and low back, and the impact caused her to require hip surgery. She had a healed hernia and the impact ruptured it.

Lastly, she had previously fractured her arm and the crash caused her to require elbow surgery. This woman could not keep her well-loved school bus driving job, and the loss of that job and her never-ending pain, caused her to suffer from the deepest depression. This married mother of two sought to end her life at one point because of all the changes in her life since the accident.

With the help of her attorneys at Dunnion Law, this woman fought the car dealership and its attorney in court.
For almost 4 years, the dealership refused to make any offer of settlement to this woman despite admitting that their employee caused the accident.

The dealership hired a medical expert who stated that all of the woman’s claimed injuries were pre-existing and none the responsibility of the dealership. But close to the time of trial, Dunnion Law mediated this woman’s case and extracted more than $600,000 from the dealership and its carrier, Travelers Insurance. This result surprised even the seasoned mediator as he valued the case at a far lower amount. This woman cannot get back her beloved job or her life before the car accident, but she is happy to be able to use her settlement monies in ways that will help ease her depression and enjoy life again.