An employee at a rental car company drove recklessly into his coworker, resulting in catastrophic injuries. Instead of accepting accountability for this horrific accident, the rental company’s insurance carrier tried to shift blame and use the victim’s medical recovery against her, attempting to minimize both liability and damages. Edward K. Le and Mike Kittleson of Le & Kittleson, Personal Injury Attorneys, represented the victim, overcoming the Defense’s maneuvers and helping her attain justice.
A family member of the victim called Edward after it became clear that the Defense was trying to shirk its responsibility. Edward brought Mike onto the case and guided the victim through her complex medical interventions, ensuring she received the best care possible.
Among the first steps in their litigation, Edward and Mike gathered all the medical evidence following the accident that they could. As the case progressed, the Defense tried numerous strategies to lower the case value. First, they attempted to shift liability to the car manufacturer by claiming that the brakes allegedly failed on the vehicle that had hit the Plaintiff. Then, they hired a private investigator to tail the Plaintiff for months, attempting to prove that she was faking injuries. Additionally, they filed motions and slowed the discovery process, trying to force the Plaintiff to settle for a lesser amount instead of waiting for a trial. To that end, Edward and Mike reassured the victim that her case was worth much more than the Defense offered and counseled patience as they solidified their case.
Edward and Mike built their case strategy around the complex medical evidence they gathered from the doctors and specialists who helped the Plaintiff recover. To synthesize the pieces of the medical puzzle, they turned to DK Global for animations to help transform medical jargon from disparate specialists into a coherent, easy-to-understand visual presentation. They needed to show that the victim’s injuries were anything but minor and that the recovery process was both grueling and ongoing.
The animation began with a realistic 3D rendering of the Plaintiff and then homed in on her injuries, starting with her brain. The presentation revealed clots, bleeding, reduced blood flow, and brain tissue damage, causing epilepsy and anosmia. From there, the animation showed injuries to the neck, ribs, kidney, back, and spleen, the latter being lacerated so severely that it had to be removed. Then, the visual depicted the Plaintiff’s fractured lower leg and shin bone, and the rod and screws put into her leg to hold them together. Finally, after the animation recapped the injuries with a full-body illustration, it delved deeper into specific brain injuries. It showed a description and animation of each brain injury alongside the Plaintiff’s medical scans, demonstrating their accuracy.
The Defense initially attempted to push a settlement offer of $2,000,000, but Edward and Mike knew the case was worth more. After showing the animation to the Defense, however, the duo settled the case for $5,900,000.
Edward K. Le is the senior partner and founding member of Le & Kittleson, Personal Injury Attorneys. With over 28 years of experience, he is Board Certified in Civil Trial Law by the National Board of Trial Advocacy. He has achieved an AV rating for highest ethics and legal ability by Martindale-Hubbell and was recognized as a Super Lawyer by Washington Law and Politics. Edward’s areas of focus are traumatic brain injuries, wrongful death, motor vehicle accidents, premises liability, and insurance bad faith. He is a member of both the Million and Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum, and was selected by the National Trial Lawyers Association and the American Society of Legal Advocates as a top 100 lawyer in Washington State.
Mike Kittleson is a partner at Le & Kittleson, Personal Injury Attorneys. He has been named to the National Trial Lawyers top 40 Under 40 list and a Super Lawyers Rising Star. A member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum, Mike focuses his practice on traumatic brain injury, premises liability, wrongful death, trucking collisions, and insurance bad faith. He has spent his career advocating for individuals who have been wronged by insurance companies and large corporations, obtaining several seven-figure verdicts, settlements, and awards.
