Our client had just passed through the toll booth on the Venetian Causeway in Miami-Dade County when another driver attempted to merge from the merge lane directly into his lane and sideswiped his vehicle. After the impact, the at-fault driver kept going -- she did not stop until our client pulled in front of her vehicle to block her. She was cited by police for careless driving.The at-fault driver had dash camera footage in her own vehicle that clearly showed her traveling in the merge lane at the moment of the collision. At deposition, she testified to a version of events that directly contradicted both the police crash report and her own video. She blamed our client.The injuries were serious despite the low-impact nature of the collision. MRI imaging confirmed disc herniations at L4-L5 and L5-S1, with nerve root impingement at multiple levels. Physical therapy, chiropractic care, and epidural steroid injections provided only temporary and incomplete relief. On August 24, 2023, our client underwent a two-level lumbar transforaminal discectomy, posterior facet fusion at L5-S1, and basivertebral nerve ablation -- a complex, multi- procedure surgical intervention performed by a neurosurgeon.Despite total past and projected medical expenses well in excess of $800,000, the available policy coverage created a ceiling on recovery. The case settled for $207,500.
We used the at-fault driver's own evidence against her. Her dash camera showed her in the merge lane. Her deposition testimony said otherwise. That contradiction -- a driver contradicted by her own vehicle's footage while simultaneously blaming the person she hit and then fled from -- was the liability picture we presented.We documented a serious surgical injury from a low-impact crash. Two-level lumbar surgery, basivertebral nerve ablation, and a life care plan projecting nearly $1,000,000 in future medical needs told a different story from the surface appearance of the impact.We managed a complex damages picture within policy constraints. We presented a complete damages case and recovered within the bounds of the policy.
