$390KDistracted driving, herniated discs and chronic pain

Our client was struck from the side by a driver who ran a stop sign at a residential intersection. She sustained herniations at C5-C6 and C6-C7 and has been left with chronic radicular pain in her right arm.

The driver denied being distracted. Liability was admitted; the dispute was over the value of an injury treated without surgery.

We subpoenaed the driver’s phone records and matched the timestamps against the 911 call, establishing an outgoing text sent forty seconds before impact.

On damages, we assembled fourteen months of treatment into a single timeline — injections, physical therapy, and the pain management course her surgeon had recommended in place of a fusion — and paired it with testimony from her husband and her supervisor about what she can no longer do.

The claim settled for $390K after the phone records were produced and before suit was filed.

She manages her symptoms with periodic injections and continues to work full-time. The settlement accounted for the treatment already provided and the injection course she is expected to need indefinitely.