$3.5 Million Settlement – Drowsy Driving By Group Home Driver – Catastrophic Injuries

An aide who lives in a group home for mentally disabled fell asleep while driving a resident to a dental visit. The aide crossed the center line and struck another vehicle head-on. The group home resident suffered a broken neck and low back. Surgery was required to rebuild his neck and low back. Eleven months after the initial surgeries one of the screws supporting his lower spine broke. Two more surgeries were required to remove and replace the hardware. The defense attorney argued since there were no lost wages, any award for pain and suffering would not be used for the injured’s benefit given his mental disability. We argued the group home he still lived in was not appropriate housing for someone with spinal injuries. At trial, our expert presented testimony regarding the cost of the group home that specializes in caring for spinal injured people. The case was handled by Managing Partner Andrew Finkelstein and Trial Partner Michael Feldman. During trial the insurance company offered $3,500,000 which was accepted by the guardian of our injured client.