An unlicensed mechanic in eastern Canada wheeled a rusty Chevy pickup onto a hoist at his father’s shop. He was waiting for a man and his fiancée who had expressed interest in purchasing the old clunker’s drive shaft. When the couple arrived, the mechanic lifted the truck high above the ground so the two potential buyers could inspect their desired part. Unaware or uncaring of the safety risks, the seller ushered the man and his soon-to-be-wife under the vehicle for a closer look. However, the pickup wasn’t secured correctly in the hoist. The three people heard a creak. Suddenly, the entire truck bed snapped, swinging inwards and onto the woman. It clobbered her head, knocking her unconscious. As she fell, the truck bed landed squarely on her foot, utterly crushing it.
Before the accident, the woman was a vibrant, active 47-year-old mother and grandmother. In addition to planning a wedding, she worked as a special events bartender and restaurant manager. However, the unlicensed mechanic’s negligence threw a wrench in her lifestyle. She couldn’t work due to the severity of her injuries. Worse, she couldn’t afford to pay out of pocket for treatment. Her busy activities ground to a halt.
A week after the incident, the case was referred to senior lawyer Megan Johnston at Smitiuch Injury Law in Ontario. Understanding how traumatizing and horrific the woman’s experience must have been, Megan wanted her client to receive a settlement or trial verdict that would make a significant difference in her shattered life. Megan’s objective was to protect her client for the future — to get the treatment she needed and not be financially burdened.
The Defendant refused to take responsibility, even fabricating a story to deflect liability. He claimed he wanted to show the drive shaft to the couple from a distance with a flashlight, but they didn’t listen. Prepared to take the case to trial, Megan knew she would need to leave no stone unturned when advocating for the Plaintiff. She enlisted many experts to help, including a mechanic (a properly licensed one), an orthopedic surgeon, a physiatrist, a psychologist, a life care planner, and an economist.
The Defendant’s false story also didn’t do any favors to bring the case to a swift conclusion. The mechanic’s counsel lowballed their initial offers, first with $650,000, all-inclusive. Eventually, Megan concluded that the way she and the Defense valued the case was too far apart to be resolved in mediation. Undaunted, she knew she needed to do something cutting-edge. That’s when Megan reached out to DK Global. In her words, she contacted DK “to capture the opposition's attention.”
DK Global worked with Megan and her experts to create several animated visuals. The presentation began with a reconstruction of the incident. A 3D depiction of the truck on a hoist demonstrated how the vehicle was positioned prior to collapsing. Notably, the telescoping arms meant to stabilize the elevated truck were not fully extended, and the truck bed was laden with vehicle parts and debris. The animation then showed where the fiancée, her husband-to-be, and the mechanic stood under the rusty truck immediately before breaking apart. Then, out of the blue, the pickup made a creaking noise; the corroded left and right main chassis beams buckled over the rear hoist supports, and the back folded. The Plaintiff was forcibly struck on her head and back. The falling axle pinned her foot and lower leg. Next, the animation depicted what the falling truck bed did to the Plaintiff’s upper body as it fell on her — the contusions and abrasions on her head and back, the resulting post-traumatic chronic neck, shoulder, and lower back pain. Then, the visuals focused on the woman’s crushed foot, which was covered in fractures.
Shortly before trial, the Defense’s unwillingness to settle began to cave. They increased their offer to $900,000. Still not enough. At a pretrial conference, the judge caucused with both parties. Negotiations continued. When the dust settled, Megan avoided a trial and accepted an all-inclusive settlement of $1,400,000. The settlement was enough to ease the Plaintiff’s financial burdens and help get her back to living life as actively as possible.
Megan Johnston is a senior lawyer at Smitiuch Injury Law in Ontario, Canada. She’s been practicing for over ten years and specializes in personal injury. Megan has acted as counsel before the Ontario Superior Court of Justice and the Financial Services Commission of Ontario.
