Plaintiff was a 16-year-old driver of a vehicle manufactured by Roe Manufacturer. Plaintiff was driving to the library with his 15-year-old girlfriend when, driving on a perfectly straight road, the vehicle suddenly veered off the road and hit a tree which was planted too close to the road. The plaintiff suffered a mild traumatic brain injury which he alleged resulted in an inability to talk. The law offices of Winer, Burritt & Scott, LLP, retained several automobile experts who testified that the steering mechanism was manufactured inappropriately and, therefore, jammed and caused the accident. Further, experts were retained to testify that the tree was too close to the road.
The defendant claimed that there had never been any prior similar accidents with this car; that the evidence which plaintiff was relying on that the steering wheel jammed was caused by the damage of the collision itself; the accident occurred because plaintiff was an inexperienced driver probably distracted by his girlfriend; that there were thousands of similarly planted trees for miles on this rural roadway; and that plaintiff did not suffer from a traumatic brain injury and that his difficulty talking was purely psychological.
After plaintiff spent $300,000 in expert expenses, the case settled.
RESULT: Confidential settlement on behalf of plaintiff