When a reckless driver, who was under the influence of drugs and alcohol, sped down the highway at 100 mph, he violently collided with the back of a young man's BMW, changing the trajectory of the young man's life forever.

J.D. was headed home from his Ivy League school for Christmas break, excited to spend time with his family, when the intoxicated driver selfishly and recklessly caused the collision that ended up damaging J.D.'s brain. In addition to the blunt force trauma to his brain, J.D. also endured a deep scalp laceration and bilateral leg contusions. He walked away from the crash without any visual injuries other than the gash on his scalp - but, as with most brain injuries, the severity of the damage was difficult to comprehend, especially by the defense's insurance company.

J.D.'s family knew that they needed the best representation for their case, someone who would fight on their behalf to gain proper compensation for the damage that J.D. had suffered - so they reached out to Sean Breen of Howry Breen & Herman. As Sean got to know J.D. and the details of the case, he planned around the several challenges that he expected to arise. One challenge was that J.D. had been a football player in high school, and had suffered from previous concussions – which the defense would surely argue were the source of his cognitive defects. The defense also argued that his injuries were not as severe as they appeared, due to the fact that J.D. persevered and graduated from college, securing a job on Wall Street. However, Sean was able to explain that, despite his client’s success story, the collision had impacted J.D.’s full potential, which would sadly not be realized. 

This case received a 2019 Golden Advocate award for The Extra Mile category, thanks to Sean’s strategy of utilizing crash test data, 3D scans, and an animation to convey the damages at a molecular level.

Reconstruction Animation Uses Cutting-Edge Technology for Accurate Presentation

The presentation begins with a reconstruction of the incident, showing the defendant traveling at unsafe speeds while under the influence, and colliding with the back of J.D.’s BMW. 3D scans of J.D.’s car, along with national crash test data and expert input, were utilized to ensure the dynamics of the collision were accurate and irrefutable. In the reconstruction, J.D.’s head is shown impacting the B-pillar of his car, lacerating his scalp and resulting in a coup-contrecoup injury - an injury where both sides of the brain are impacted due to rapid changes in velocity. Finally, the animation takes the viewer down to the molecular level inside J.D.’s brain, showing the rupturing and shearing of axons due to the trauma.

With indisputable evidence in hand, Sean successfully secured a full and fair seven-figure settlement for his client. 

Sean Breen is a record-setting, experienced trial attorney who considers his clients family and fights every day to deliver not only the best results, but the special trust and confidence that his clients expect and deserve. He has won numerous Hall of Fame verdicts and recovered hundreds of millions of dollars in verdicts and settlements for his clients. Mr. Breen has been recognized multiple times for his service to clients through his record-setting verdicts and settlements, being recognized as one of the Best Lawyers in America® for Personal Injury, Product Liability, Commercial Litigation, and Construction Litigation, Top 50 US Verdicts, Texas Verdicts Hall of Fame, Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum, National Top 100 Trial Lawyers, and Super Lawyers®.