Log truck accident results in neck, back injuries, $1.29M settlement

Action: Personal injury

Injuries alleged: Cervical and lumbar stenosis at multiple levels

Case name: Withheld

Court/case no.: Withheld

Jury and/or judge: Withheld

Amount: $1.29 million

Date: Withheld

Attorneys: Lauren B. Dangerfield and J. Christopher Wilson of the Wilson Law Group, Bamberg (for the plaintiff)

In 2021, the plaintiff stopped her car at a stop sign awaiting traffic when she was rear-ended by a log truck. The driver of the log truck received a moving traffic violation to which he later pleaded guilty.

Shortly after impact, the plaintiff was taken by ambulance to the emergency room due to the pain she was experiencing in her neck and back. She treated with her primary care provider, physical therapists, orthopedists and pain specialists. Ultimately, MRIs revealed foraminal stenosis and canal stenosis at several cervical and lumbar levels.

The plaintiff’s treating orthopedist opined the accident aggravated a pre-existing degenerative disc disease condition.

Due to the accident, the plaintiff was unable to perform the physical requirements necessary as a child educator and caregiver and she was forced to conclude a long career. Her injuries limited her from active participation with her family, friends and community without significant pain.

In his deposition, the truck driver denied fault and gave an inconsistent story of how the accident occurred. Plaintiff’s counsel obtained body camera footage from a responding officer at the accident scene where the truck driver provided a different version of events to the officer and in which he admitted liability.

The deposition testimony of the truck driver and log truck business owner divulged multiple violations of regulations, and there was ample evidence the log truck business conducted inadequate training, oversight and supervision of its drivers and use of its trucks. The company’s SAFER data detailed higher than average out of service rates and multiple violations of regulations for unsafe driving, speeding and defective parts.