Type of Case: Personal injury
Attorneys: Bill Kilduff, Harrison Long, Howard Bullock
Tried before: Mediation
Name of judge or mediator: Judge Thomas B. Hoover (Ret.)
Special damages: $28,118.15
Verdict or settlement: Settlement
Amount: $540,000.00
Attorney(s) for plaintiff: Harrison W. “Whit” Long, Howard Bullock and William Kilduff, Richmond
Description of case: The plaintiff, an avid cyclist, was riding his bicycle to visit a friend. It was a summer afternoon, and the sun was brightly shining. As the plaintiff approached the intersection of the street on which his friend lived, he moved his bicycle onto the adjacent sidewalk and immediately sustained a significant and unexpected impact to the right side of his face due to elongated construction materials, which had been left hanging over a four-foot chain link fence and fully protruding into the sidewalk, at a house that was owned, and being renovated, by the defendant; however, the plaintiff never saw them prior to the impact, as the sun’s brightness obscured the materials visibility.
As a result, plaintiff sustained significant injuries, including a facial laceration, an inferior orbital wall blowout fracture with involvement of the infraorbital canal, comminuted fractures of the maxillary sinus, and post traumatic trigeminal neuropathy. Despite trying several different treatment modalities, the plaintiff continues to suffer from trigeminal neuropathy, and his treating providers were prepared to testify in support.
The defense vigorously contested the permanency of the trigeminal neuropathy, claiming the injuries were subjective. Ultimately, the parties were able to mediate the case to resolution just one week before the scheduled trial.