Young Woman Suffers Brain Injury in Pedestrian Accident – $650,000

Growing up with both familial and social challenges, our client had already faced multiple hardships in her young life even before a vehicle struck her.

While crossing the street in The Alameda district near her home, our client walked out to a crosswalk located at the middle of the block. The driver of an oncoming vehicle failed to see our client and struck her at full speed. Area EMTs called to the accident scene assessed her condition, and noted a head injury that had impaired her visual, verbal and motor responses.

Upon arriving at the ER, doctors discovered multiple fractures to her leg and ribs, a collapsed lung, bleeding of her skull, lacerations to her lip and head and cognitive problems. She underwent multiple surgeries to repair her lip laceration and to place hardware that would help her leg fractures heal. During this stressful time, she hired Dunnion Law to tackle the numerous obstacles, particularly the growing medical costs, related to her accident case.

Though the police did not blame the driver for the incident, her Dunnion Law attorney successfully argued for the victim’s innocence in the ordeal. Our attorney then requested a neuropsychological evaluation of the client to demonstrate the accident’s effect on her cognition. The testing showed she suffered from reduced memory, language deficits and poor listening comprehension, as well as other cognitive issues.

With courts at a standstill due to COVID-19, our attorney also planned strategy to win the case without years of waiting. By handling the casework early and negotiating for a pre-litigation mediation, the attorney was able to fully show the extent of the victim’s cognitive problems and serious physical injuries prior to trial. This also opened the door for accessing the negligent driver’s other insurance coverage, allowing for even more compensation to the victim.

Rather than recover solely from the $300,000 available from the driver’s car insurance policy, Dunnion Law also tapped into the driver’s umbrella policy. By doing so, Dunnion Law significantly increased the possible recovery amount. Our attorney ultimately obtained a total settlement of $650,000, more than double the $300,000 maximum initially available from the driver’s car policy.

Despite the many grave injuries our client sustained, she is carving a new path for herself, and her new baby girl, as she continues to recover from her accident.