Bus accident causes head injury to aspiring college student – $1,000,000

When he woke up the morning of his accident, our client had a feeling it was going to be a great day. He and his girlfriend went on their usual morning drive in rural Fresno to go to her school, then to his work where he tutored other students.

Part of their route included driving through a nearby intersection where the cross-traffic was marked with stop signs. As he entered the intersection, the driver of a crossing passenger bus failed to stop at the Stop sign. The large bus slammed at full speed into our client’s car, t-boning the vehicle on the driver side.

Hydraulic cutting tools used in rescue operations, or “jaws of life”, were brought in to remove the metal that pinned him into the crumpled vehicle. Once firefighters freed him from the vehicle, ambulances rushed him and his girlfriend to the nearest emergency room for treatment.

Our client suffered lacerations to the back of his head, and broke his collar bone when it separated from his shoulder, which required multiple surgeries to repair. Doctors stapled the back of his head to close the laceration. Our client underwent several more surgeries to repair his shoulder and remove the bolts and hardware that secured the bone, and lives with the ongoing risk of serious injury to his shoulder.

While these surgeries and treatment were in progress, the defendant’s insurance company minimized the extent of our client’s injury and damages, submitting an initial offer of just $25,000. Our attorney flatly refused not only their offer, but also their request to mediate without having a full assessment of our client’s injuries completed. Our attorney initiated multiple depositions, obtaining opinions from nine different experts and conducting discovery that solidified the full extent of our client’s injuries and damages.

At each step in the process, our attorney deftly increased the insurance company’s offer upward, pressuring the insurance company to acknowledge its full liability for the collision. By the end of the negotiations, our attorney successfully won a $1,000,000 settlement from the insurance company, 40X the amount of their initial offer. In addition, she also obtained $60,000 for the girlfriend’s injuries.

The seven-figure settlement provides this aspiring young student a chance to pursue his education, and build a career working with animals. We’re happy to have been a part of his recovery, and expect him to have many truly great days ahead.