Introducing Christensen Law - Flipbook - Page 8
CASE STUDY
Woman had brain injury from late-night crash
Cement truck hit car from the rear
By: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff in Verdicts & Settlements June 19, 2014
In September 2010, plaintiff Vaylma Dorado was coming home late at night
from her job at a security system company. She was driving on Telegraph
Road in Brownstown Township in a Volkswagen Jetta and was preparing to
turn into her neighborhood.
Plaintiff alleged that defendant Cecil Wells Jr. was driving a cement truck
owned by defendant McCoig Concrete Co. and was going through papers as
he drove. Wells did not see Dorado until the last minute, tried to swerve to
the right, and ended up colliding with Dorado’s car from the rear, propelling
Dorado’s car approximately 100 feet into a utility pole. Defendants admitted
liability.
Dorado suffered spinal injuries that required three fusion surgeries. In addition,
she required a sacroiliac joint (hip) fusion and torn shoulder surgery, and also
developed severe migraines and post-traumatic stress disorder. Approximately
five months after the accident, Dorado was referred by her family doctor to a
neurologist who diagnosed her with a traumatic brain injury.
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Defendants’ expert radiologist testified that plaintiff’s MRIs did not reflect
injuries from the accident and that plaintiff’s conditions were degenerative.
Defendants’ expert neurologist testified that he did not believe plaintiff had an
ongoing brain injury, but that plaintiff did have migraines from the accident.
Plaintiff contended that she never had neck, back, hip or shoulder pains until
after the September 2010 accident.
Woman hit by cement truck awarded $17.8M
Pre-crash photos resonated with jury
By: Michigan Lawyers Weekly - Douglas Levy in News Stories June 20, 2014
Three-and-a-half days into a recent auto negligence trial in Wayne County,
the plaintiff’s attorneys became worried.
David Christensen and Sarah Stempky had presented medical and
psychological experts’ videotaped depositions, in addition to two lay
witnesses, to explain the extent of their client’s injuries.
