A tractor-trailer rumbled along an Indiana interstate. Oblivious to his surroundings, the tractor-tailer driver irresponsibly merged into an occupied lane beside him. Cruising alongside the truck, a 34-year-old working-class father of two believed he would soon be visiting his family after a long commute. The enormous vehicle ensnarled the smaller car in a devastating collision. Dazed, the working father emerged out of the twisted husk that used to be his car and stepped across a field of shattered glass. He felt okay — at first.
But as the adrenaline from the moment subsided and his body’s inflammatory response kicked in, young man developed severe neck pain, low back pain, and frequent headaches. Three of the Plaintiff’s spinal discs had been crushed in the impact — two of them irreparably. Consequently, he required two invasive surgeries: a C4-C6 discectomy and fusion as well as an L1 and S1 microdiscectomy to remove parts of his herniated discs. For the rest of the Plaintiff’s life, he would be plagued by chronic pain, years of rehabilitation and recovery, and possibly further surgical interventions.
The Plaintiff’s original attorney entered into pre-suit mediation with the shipping company. However, the Defense attempted to take advantage of the lawyer’s inexperience by offering only $200,000 for the man’s numerous injuries. The lawyer referred the case to Joseph Wilson, a managing partner at Trial Lawyers for Justice – Georgia. Joseph had been practicing for 12 years, and his firm specialized in catastrophic injury, wrongful death, and toxic tort.
After taking the case, Joseph created a medical chronology to screen for other potential injuries and zeroed in on the frequent headaches his client had been suffering since the collision. The Plaintiff sought consultation from a neurologist, who diagnosed him with post-concussive syndrome and a mild traumatic brain injury. Joseph traveled to Indiana and took depositions of all the Defendants. He also reviewed the truck driver’s background and investigated the shipping company. Going even further, he consulted with the Plaintiff’s treating physicians and realized how severely the Defense and the previous attorney had been undervaluing the depth of the Plaintiff’s multiple injuries. Rather than the $375,000 the prior attorney had been willing to settle for (and which the Defense rebuffed), Joseph valued the case in the millions of dollars.
The Defense argued the Plaintiff’s injuries were neither severe nor life-changing. They hired an orthopedic surgeon and a neurologist to justify their lower settlement offers. Joseph needed to demonstrate the severity and scope of his client’s injuries. Not only was the case undervalued up to that point, the Plaintiff’s TBI wasn’t even part of the conversation during the original pre-suit mediation. Additionally, Joseph sought to convey that if the Defendants could not reach a satisfactory number for his client’s injuries, he would undoubtedly take the case to trial.
Joseph assembled a demand package, which included the exhibits he would show at trial. His law firm partner had worked numerous times with DK Global, and Joseph decided to bring them on board. He tasked DK Global with creating eye-popping 3D medical illustrations that would visually evince the scope and severity of the Plaintiff’s injuries. The Plaintiff's experts — the neurologist, treating provider, and surgeon — collaborated with DK Global and signed-off on the animations’ accuracy.
DK Global created an animated illustration of the Plaintiff’s brain that showcased the multiple regions that were damaged on the DTI MRI. The animation began with a 3D rendering of the Plaintiff. Next, the video peered into his head and showed the interior of his brain. The injured regions were highlighted (e.g., primary motor cortex, middle temporal gyrus, hypothalamus, external capsule, superior frontal-occipital fasciculus, and medial lemniscus), and the key findings from the MRI scans were displayed. Captions provided context as to the functions of each of the damaged brain regions.
Prior to Joseph mediating with the Defense, he sent them the demand package that included the DK Global animations. After reviewing the package, the Defense offered $1,500,000 at the mediation — 7.5x higher than the $200,000 they had initially offered the prior attorney. But that was still a far cry from making his client whole for the collision. After Joseph walked away from the meeting, the Defense doubled their offer to $3,000,000. Happily, the Plaintiff accepted the deal after his intrepid attorney saw the true value of his injuries and refused to settle for anything less.
Joseph Wilson is the managing partner at Trial Lawyers for Justice – Georgia. He has been practicing law for 12 years and specializes in personal injury cases. He attended law school at Washington University, and upon graduation, was awarded the prestigious John W. Calhoun Trial Practice award for demonstrating excellence in trial advocacy. As a practicing attorney, Joseph received recognition by National Trial Lawyers as one of the top 40 lawyers under the age of 40. He had previously been selected as one of the top 30 under 30 by the Atlanta Business Chronicle. In 2020, fellow members of the Georgia Bar voted Joseph as a Georgia Super Lawyer Rising Star. He is the past Vice President of the Emerging 100 of Atlanta and was recently inducted into the prestigious 100 Black Men of Atlanta as one of the youngest members in the entire organization. In addition, he serves as the President of the Stone Mountain Alumni Foundation of Kappa Alpha Psi.
