Our client, a 24-year-old college student and theme park employee, was driving in Orange County when a rideshare driver rear-ended his vehicle. Florida Highway Patrol cited the rideshare driver for careless driving. MRI imaging revealed lumbar disc herniations at three levels -- L3-4, L4-5, and L5-S1 -- all with moderate spinal stenosis and radiologist confirmation that the findings were consistent with injuries caused or acutely aggravated by the crash. After more than eight months of physical therapy and conservative treatment failed to provide lasting relief, our client underwent a right-sided hemilaminectomy, foraminotomy, microdiscectomy, and decompression at L4-5 and L5-S1. Mausner Group pursued the rideshare company's insurer and secured a settlement of $425,000.
Rear-end collisions in Florida carry a strong presumption of liability against the following driver, and the Florida Highway Patrol citation confirmed fault clearly. The rideshare context matters in these cases -- rideshare companies maintain commercial insurance policies with substantially higher limits than individual drivers. Mausner Group demanded full limits and presented a damages package anchored in a completed surgery, a young client with decades of potential future medical needs, and an orthopedic surgeon's opinion that additional intervention was likely.
