The driver of a pickup truck failed to slow down and rear-ended a van that was stopped behind other cars at a traffic light. It was a low-speed collision, and there was little damage to the vehicles. However, the van driver, a man in his late-50s, was caught unaware. The impact violently jerked his head back and forth. A few hours after the collision, he went to the hospital emergency room complaining of pain, swelling in his neck, and impaired vision.
At the hospital, the man underwent a CT imaging scan. He was diagnosed with a pseudoaneurysm in his left carotid artery. He received immediate treatment, and over time the symptoms abated. Unfortunately, roughly a year later, doctors diagnosed the man with a second pseudoaneurysm, this time in his right carotid artery. The man’s physicians determined the cause was the treatment the Plaintiff had received for his initial injuries. Repairing the right pseudoaneurysm required surgery, which rendered him incapable of working full-time.
About a month after the accident, the man went to Chris Davis of the Davis Law Group, seeking compensation for his medical expenses, pain, and suffering. One of the challenges of the case was explaining how a low-speed collision could have caused a severe injury like what the Plaintiff sustained. An experienced attorney, Chris knew it could be difficult for juries to understand how minor collisions can cause serious damage.
Another challenge related to the nature of the injuries themselves. Pseudoaneurysms can be caused by very minor trauma and can even occur spontaneously. Chris had to prove that the collision caused the initial pseudoaneurysm. He also had to prove that the second pseudoaneurysm directly resulted from the treatment for the first one.
Chris consulted with several experts, including an accident reconstructionist, a biomechanical injury expert, a neurosurgeon, a neurologist, and a vascular surgeon. To attain justice for the Plaintiff, Chris needed to make it easy for a jury to understand the cause of the injuries, as well as the scope of the injuries themselves. He reached out to DK Global for animations that clearly illustrated the Plaintiff’s complicated medical story.
DK Global developed three demonstratives for this case: a reconstruction animation, a mechanism of injury animation, and a surgical animation. The reconstruction showed a bird’s eye view of the collision. The Defendant in the pickup truck failed to notice the stopped vehicles ahead of him. Even at a low speed, the impact thrust the van forward. Next, the mechanism of injury animation depicted what happened to the Plaintiff inside the van as he was hit. While stopped at a red light, the man bent down to grab something on the floor of the van. Unaware of the approaching pickup behind him, the force propelled the man backward, his skull jerking back and forth. Finally, a 3D model of the man’s skeleton and blood vessels came into view, showing how the accident caused his carotid artery to impact the C1 vertebra of his neck, causing the pseudoaneurysm.
The last animation showed the surgery the Plaintiff underwent for the pseudoaneurysm. It began with an incision above his right wrist to find and cauterize the radial artery. Then, another large incision was made behind the ear to expose the skull and cervical muscles. It then showed the ligament, bone, and piece of the skull that had to be removed to expose the dura matter, which was opened to aid dissection of the vertebral artery. Then the piece of radial artery from the wrist was grafted into the gap left by the arterial dissection. Finally, after carefully reapproximating the muscles that had been exposed, the patient’s extraction sites were closed.
The Plaintiff’s medical bills totaled around $600,000, but as the case approached trial, the Defense’s best offer was a mere $75,000. Chris obtained the animations as he prepared the case for a jury. Days after the Defense saw the animations, they settled the case at mediation for $2,000,000.
Chris Davis is an accomplished attorney with over 30 years of experience and the founder of Davis Law Group in Seattle, Washington. He is a passionate and zealous advocate for the legal rights of catastrophic injury and wrongful death victims and their families. Davis Law Group has a reputation in the community for being aggressive attorneys and trying cases when necessary. Chris has developed a philosophy over the years of not skimping on cases when it comes to developing exhibits to put on the best trial he can for his client. Some of Chris’s awards and honors include Super Lawyer and Rising Star recognition, being selected as the Best Personal Injury Law Firm in Washington State by AI Dispute Resolution Awards, being named Best Injury Law Firm in Washington State by AI Legal Awards, and selection by the National Academy of Personal Injury Attorneys as one of their Top 10 Personal Injury Attorneys in Washington State.
