This is a distracted driving case involving a bus driver who made a sharp left turn at an intersection and struck a 74-year-old pedestrian as he was walking in a crosswalk, resulting in multiple serious injuries, including a TBI.
Surveillance video footage from the intersection shows the plaintiff waiting at the side of the road before stepping into the crosswalk and beginning to cross, as well as the bus approaching and making the left turn directly toward him, but the actual impact is not visible. There are also two witnesses who confirm that the individual was in the crosswalk when he was struck by the bus. Police photos of the bus (after the event) show significant damage to the metal arm that extends from the passenger’s side of the bus, and the anchoring bolt from the arm is torn away from the bus’s frame.
Attorney Ken Fromson hired TTS to conduct a series of Focus Groups to test things like negative attribution and animations, and develop case themes. He requested a Biography to show the extent of the damages in this case, Medical Illustrations to reveal the damage to the brain during the impact, and other Exhibits to demonstrate injuries to the plaintiff’s clavicle, ribs, and scapula.
Additionally, Mr. Fromson requested Verdict Searches, DMV Searches, and assistance from our lien resolution department with Medicare liens and pre-settlement funding.
“I brought TTS on because I knew there were aspects of this case that wouldn’t sit well with a jury. TTS assisted me in not only identifying those aspects, but creating case strategies to confront them head on.”
Total Trial Solutions worked with our partner attorney for over two years on the case. Here is a quick summary of the work we did to assist him.
A total of three Focus Groups were done on this case to gauge jurors thoughts on things like life care plans, animations, photos from the accident scene, surveillance video, and much more. As trial approached, Attorney Fromson took the opportunity to read his opening statement to a Focus Group and collect their feedback, as well as test voir dire questions, and confirm his case theme.
Biographer Sarah Lunham met with the individual and spoke with him about his life prior to the date of accident. She gathered information about his living situation, family, interests, and routines. Sarah spoke with a former neighbor and friend who said the man was independent prior to the incident. Sarah also spoke with the plaintiff’s daughter and granddaughters, and collected information about his former lifestyle and activities. Sarah gathered substantial information and evidence of damages directly resulting from the man’s injuries. The brain injury hindered his ability to live and care for himself independently, therefore he moved in with this daughter. The move was significant because it took this man away from everything he knew and loved. Before he was injured, he lived in the center of town, where friends, stores, and public places were more accessible to someone without a driver’s license. Afterwards, the man was forced to move miles away, in the middle of nowhere so that he could be assisted and cared for by his daughter.
The plaintiff in this case suffered a complex head injury, which Attorney Fromson knew would be difficult to explain to a jury. He wanted to ensure that jurors understood the extent to which the man was injured by the bus, therefore he consulted with TTS and created a strategy to use Medical Illustrations as courtroom exhibits.
In addition to a head injury, the plaintiff suffered multiple chest injuries including a acromion fracture, a acromioclavicular joint fracture, a displaced clavicle fracture, a coracoid fracture, and multiple rib fractures. The injured party also suffered fractures to his cervical and thoracic spine. TTS put together a number of Medical Illustrations to showcase the injuries the individual suffered.
Our visual strategy team prepared and enlarged exhibits for Attorney Fromson, including A Brain Injury Classification board which showecased varying degrees of traumatic brain injuries. Attorney Fromson used this exhibit to explain what type of brain injury his client suffered, and the expected outcome.
Other charts, X-rays, and MRI films were converted to printable formats, enlarged, and printed by TTS. The visual strategy team ensured the exhibits arrived to the correct location prior to mediation and trial.
TTS ran Verdict Searches in order to gauge similar verdicts in the geographic area. We uncovered multiple seven figure verdicts from cases with similar injuries. TTS also conducted Social Media Investigations, ISO ClaimSearches, and DMV searches on behalf of Attorney Fromson.
The injured party in this case accrued over a $100k in Medicaid liens and pre-settlement funding. Our Lien Resolution team worked diligently over the course of three years to track and monitor outstanding liens. Once a settlement was reached, the team worked quickly to resolve all outstanding liens so the funds could be released to the plaintiff.
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