Mr. A was driving his tractor-trailer on I-75 North in Marietta, Georgia, during rush hour. Traffic ahead of him suddenly stopped. Mr. A braked his tractor-trailer and safely brought it to a stop. A tractor-trailer driving behind him was following too closely and couldn’t stop in time. It crashed into Mr. A’s tractor-trailer, pushing it into the car before him. The wreck tore his rotator cuff, and he required surgery to repair it. Attorney Michael Ruppersburg secured a $245,000 settlement for Mr. A, which was over three times his medical bills.
THE WRECK
The wreck badly damaged both tractor-trailers and they were both towed away. The Georgia State Patrol investigated the wreck and cited the other tractor-trailer driver for following too closely. The other driver paid the ticket, which is a legal admission that he was at fault for the wreck.
THE INJURIES
Mr. A’s neck and shoulder hurt after the wreck. An ambulance took him to the emergency room. Doctors took x-rays to make sure he didn’t have any broken bones and diagnosed him with strains and sprains of his neck and shoulder. His shoulder kept bothering him, so he went to see his doctor. The doctor ordered physical therapy, which unfortunately didn’t help Mr. A’s shoulder pain. His doctor ordered an MRI, which showed that he had a large SLAP tear in his labrum.
Mr. A had rotator cuff surgery to repair the tear and then two months of physical therapy to help him recover. He made a good recovery, but the range of motion in his shoulder is less than it was and his shoulder is occasionally stiff and sore.
THE SETTLEMENT
Since the State Patrol cited the other driver for following too closely and he paid the ticket, there was no dispute about who was at fault for the wreck. The only issues for the jury were whether the wreck caused Mr. A’s surgery and fair compensation for his injuries. The defense tried to dispute that the wreck caused Mr. A’s surgery, but his doctors testified that it did. Before the case went to court, the defense offered a $245,000 settlement, which he accepted.