If you’ve ever meet a triathelete, then you know the person’s determination and stamina and the amount of grueling physical training he or she goes through to keep their bodies in top shape. So it’s always tragic when a negligent driver mows down one of these athletes, which is exactly what happened in Fairfax, Virginia (VA).
The surprising thing about the accident is that the driver of the pickup truck loaded down with concrete supplies and hauling a 400-gallon water tank admitted to seeing the cyclist but then was distracted by a “fishing spot” and hit the cyclist at 50 mph.
The woman, who was a nurse at the time of the accident, suffered a compression fracture to her vertebrae, and the socket of her hip was shattered. These would be debilitating injuries for anyone, but they were especially traumatic for an athlete. The woman also sustained a traumatic brain injury, which ultimately affected her ability to continue in her job as a nurse. As a Virginia car accident attorney, I know that many brain injuries can take longer to diagnose than oblivious visible injuries to the victim.
She was so preoccupied with the pain from her injuries that she herself did not realize the extent of her brain injury until she tried to return to work. The insurance company refused to believe that she had any brain injury at all and fought hard to discredit the testimony of the victim.
Fortunately, she hired Virginia personal injury attorney James Freeman, who was able to procure a settlement of $2.25 million for his client. While this may seem like a large sum, she had already incurred $158,000 in medical bills and a vocational rehabilitation counselor estimated her lost earning potential and lifetime care costs to be $1.25 million.
CT