Pedestrian Receives $500,000 After Being Hit by a Car

An active 64-year-old Spring Lake woman was crossing a street to a parking lot in town when she was suddenly struck by a car backing out of an adjacent driveway.

The woman suffered numerous injuries, including a severely fractured left wrist and disc herniations to her lumbar spine. The wrist injury first required a closed reduction in the Emergency Department and three days later, surgery to place a plate and screws to further stabilize the wrist. The disc herniations required two epidurals and then, because she was still in significant pain, a 3-level lumber fusion with placement of rods, cages and screws. The woman had complications from the spine surgery requiring six days in the hospital and five weeks in a sub-acute rehabilitation center. Finally, the accident caused an exacerbation of the woman’s lupus that had been controlled for years prior to the accident.

The woman still suffers with pain and difficulty walking, necessitating the use of either a walker or, if she is going a distance, a wheelchair. She also experiences significant pain and stiffness due to post-traumatic osteoarthritis of the spine which has developed since the accident.

The defendant claimed that the woman should have crossed at the intersection and not in the middle of the street. The team at Maggs McDermott & DiCicco argued that regardless of where the woman crossed the street, the defendant had an obligation to make proper observations and precautions prior to backing out into the street.

The case went to mediation and was settled for $500,000.

For more information on the Personal Injury practice at Maggs McDermott & DiCicco, click here.

*Results vary based on particular facts and legal circumstances.