A driver was commuting along the 405 freeway in Los Angeles, California — a car immediately in front of her, another to her right, and a Honda Civic to her left driven by a woman named Shawna. Without warning, the car in front braked. The driver erratically swerved to the right. Noticing the vehicle in that lane, she veered left. She crashed into the passenger side of Shawna’s Civic, heaving it into the carpool lane. As Shawna’s car yawed counterclockwise a fast-moving pickup truck slammed into her door.
Shawna, a mother and full-time caregiver for her daughter — a cancer and transplant survivor — was heading home on an hour-long drive from her daughter’s weekly check-up. Shawna opted to not go to the hospital after the wreck, sparing her daughter a second visit in one day. However, soon after, Shawna began limping and feeling terrible pain along her neck and back, making it impossible to give her daughter the care she needed.
Medical imagery revealed Shawna suffered severe radiculopathy due to several herniated discs along her lumbar spine. To conservatively treat her injuries, doctors suggested a regiment of epidural injections and chiropractic sessions. Unfortunately, these procedures failed to relieve Shawna’s pain. As a result, she underwent a laminotomy and decompression procedure to relieve the tension along her vertebral canal.
Seeking justice for the injuries that inhibited her from caring for her family, Shawna called on Kuzyk Law. As Shawna’s attorney got to know her and her family; he recognized the life-changing, adverse effects the accident had on them. He filed her claim against the Defendant and her insurance. The carrier, however, underestimated the gravity of the collision and offered an underwhelming $50,000.
To show just how much the accident took from Shawna and her family, Kuzyk Law worked with DK Global to create a “day in the life” video capturing their daily struggle. Then, to illustrate the severity of the collisions, Shawna’s attorney had DK Global create a reconstruction animation of the accident and the surgeries.
The animation demonstrated the magnitude of the collisions, refuting the Defense’s claim that the incident was a mere sideswipe. Then, Shawna’s spinal surgery depicted the invasiveness of her attempts to recover. The video walked the viewers through Shawna’s routine as a caregiver and a mother as she tried to return to her once-active self. In the documentary, she winced in pain as she multitasked between getting her children ready for school and changing her youngest daughter’s ileostomy bag. Soon after Shawna’s spinal surgery, her daughter was diagnosed with stage III Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, hospitalizing her for nine months nearly 100 miles away. Shawna’s daughter required frequent hospital visits during her recovery and remission. This often forced Shawna to make the difficult decision between fighting through her lingering back pain to accompany her daughter or drive home to get proper rest.
Kuzyk Law shared the series of videos with the opposition, communicating the devastation Shawna and her family endured from the accident. After meeting with the Defense, Shawna’s attorney attained a $530,000 settlement for her — more than 10 times the initial offer.
Since 1971, Kuzyk Law has been committed to representing southern California’s victims of personal injury, auto accidents, commercial trucking accidents, and more. Kuzyk Law has attained over $900 million for their clients with their 30-person team. Notably, the firm has been recognized with numerous awards for its philanthropy and support of the surrounding Antelope Valley community.
