$3.7 Million
Settlement · Truck Accident · 2020
Tractor-trailer rear-end with contested injury causation
Los Angeles County, CA
Case summary
The carrier admitted impact but disputed the extent of injury. Life-care planning, prior medical baselining, and surgical testimony documented the permanence of the harm. The matter resolved at mediation after the defense medical examination was undermined.
Case at a glance
Injuries: Cervical injury requiring two-level fusion.
- Defendant
- Interstate motor carrier
- Key issue
- Injury causation, not liability
- Resolution
- Settled at mediation
- Time to resolution
- 20 months
The challenge
Impact was admitted, but the carrier argued degenerative changes — not the collision — explained the surgery.
How we built it
- Baselined prior imaging to show a clean pre-collision cervical spine
- Treating surgeon testified to traumatic causation
- Cross-examination exposed the defense examiner's file-review-only opinion
The outcome
The carrier's causation defense collapsed at mediation and the matter resolved shortly after.
How the case moved
Retained
Three weeks after the collision
Discovery
Defense medical exam completed and challenged
Mediation
Resolved in one session
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Every case is decided on its own facts, venue, and available insurance coverage.
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