Recent Cases
$1,100,000 RECOVERY – MOTOR VEHICLE NEGLIGENCE – SINGLE VEHICLE COLLISION – ALLEGED NEGLIGENT ENTRUSTMENT OF AUTOMOBILE TO DRIVER FOLLOWING SEIZURE – COMPOUND FRACTURE OF TIBIA/FIBULA – NECK AND SHOULDER INJURIES – PLURAL EFFUSION – EMOTIONAL INJURIES.
Mercer County, PA
This action was brought against a mother, as well as her daughter, who was driving the mother’s car at the time she was involved in a single vehicle collision. The plaintiff was a passenger in the vehicle at the time of the accident. The plaintiff alleged that the defendant daughter negligently operated the vehicle and that the defendant mother negligently entrusted the car to her daughter because the daughter had suffered an earlier seizure and had only a learner’s permit to drive. The defense argued that there was no evidence that the defendant had suffered a seizure prior to the collision.
The plaintiff was employed by the defendant mother in a retail store and performing odd jobs. The plaintiff alleged that, on the day in question, the defendant daughter suffered a seizure of some kind and that the defendant mother was aware of the event. Later on the same day, the plaintiff claimed that she was a passenger in the car driven by the defendant driver, when the defendant driver experienced another seizure, left the road surface at a high rate of speed and struck several trees. The defendant mother was also a passenger in the vehicle at the time of the incident. The defendant driver had only a learner’s driving permit, requiring supervision of a licensed driver, at the time.
The plaintiff was diagnosed with a compound fracture of the right tibia/ fibula which required an external fixation. She also claimed sprain and strain to her shoulder and neck a pleural effusion and emotional injuries including depression as a result of the collision. The defense argued that there was no medical evidence or diagnosis to establish that the defendant driver suffered a seizure.
The case settled prior to trial for a total of $1,100,000.
REFERENCE
Moss vs. Defendants. Case no. 2009-4727, 10-11-12.