While minor car accidents often seem more like an inconvenience than a great danger, the impacts can set off a chain of events that lead to catastrophe. One day, an inattentive driver rear-ended a woman in her car. The woman seemed to escape with only a minor traumatic brain injury. However, almost exactly one year later, a second vehicle collided with hers. This impact was much more severe than the one a year later, and the complications of the first crash began to worsen significantly.
While the first accident had impacted the woman professionally and personally, she retained her ability to walk and perform activities of daily living. Unfortunately, in the second crash, she sustained several severe fractures and had to be physically cut from the vehicle to be transported to the hospital.
The woman sought legal aid from personal injury attorney William E. Wells Jr. of Kitrick, McWeeney & Wells, LLC. While William first approached the case focusing on the second, more severe collision, it became clear that the first accident caused much more damage than anyone initially assumed. As with many TBIs, there was little objective evidence that definitively proved the severity of the Plaintiff’s wound.
William approached the distinguished neurologist, Dr. Brian Greenwald, to testify as an expert in the case. Dr. Greenwald became closely involved with the Plaintiff’s treatment and was able to aid her recovery significantly. Dr. Greenwald provided essential medical testimony to explain the impacts of the Plaintiff’s traumatic brain injury.
William worried that complex medical jargon might be difficult for a jury to follow. Additionally, he wanted to explain the culpability of each Defendant in the case clearly. He decided to enlist the help of DK Global to work on an accompanying visual aid that demonstrated his client’s trauma to potential jurors. Collaborating with William and the medical experts, DK Global animators created a video outlining the details and impacts of the Plaintiff’s traumatic brain injury.
The video began with a character animation of the Plaintiff and the inside of her skull, identifying the location of cerebrospinal fluid protecting her brain. Next, a diagram explained the structure and function of the brain’s neurons. This included visualizations of electrical and chemical interneural communication through axons. The video then returned to the rendering of the Plaintiff’s head and skull, highlighting her areas of injury. Viewers were provided a closer look at her coup-contrecoup injury, where the brain ricocheted against the back and front of her skull due to the rotational forces on the Plaintiff’s head during the collisions. Finally, the animation illustrated how these impacts fragmented and killed the Plaintiff’s neurons.
While William litigated against several Defendants in the case, the initial offer wavered around the paltry $40,000 mark. William continued fighting the case and eventually presented the visual he’d created with DK Global. After the viewing, the first Defense relented its $100,000 policy limit and ultimately settled in mediation for $750,000. Then, William settled with the second Defendant for $290,000. All told, William attained $1,140,000 million for his client to help aid in her recovery.
William E. Wells Jr. is an attorney and partner at the New Jersey-based firm Kitrick, McWeeney & Wells, LLC. William’s practice focuses primarily on personal injury cases, although he is a champion of workers’ compensation and estate litigation cases as well. After graduating from Seton Hall University School of Law, William clerked for the Honorable Rochelle Gizinski before joining the firm. An ambitious and hard worker, William obtained his first million-dollar settlement for a personal injury client at the young age of 30. He is a recipient of the National Trial Lawyers 40 Under 40 Award and is a member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum.
