$ 2,500,000.00 settlement for a 22 year old female injured in a van$ 2,500,000.00 settlement for a 22 year old female who was injured while traveling as a passenger in a van being driven through South Carolina. The client, who was a resident of Portland, Oregon, was traveling to Miami from New York, where she attended architectural school. She was a passenger in a rental van and was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the incident. The driver of the van lost control, causing it to hit a guardrail and then veer across onto the median where the van rolled multiple times causing our client to be ejected. Our client was traveling in the van with her boyfriend and seven of his family members. The Plaintiff incurred injuries that included, but were not limited to a broken neck, broken wrist and fractured skull. She was hospitalized in a coma for more than a week and required a surgical repair of her broken neck. The long term effects of her injuries included memory loss, diminished cognitive function, depression and chronic pain to her neck, shoulders, back and elbow. The client was also forced to withdraw from the architectural school she was attending and claimed lost earning capacity of at least $1,000,000.00. The defense argued that only the driver's minimal insurance would be applicable and that the rental company would not be liable due to the fact that South Carolina law applied because the accident happened there. South Carolina does not have vicarious liability laws similar to the state of Florida which hold the owner of a vehicle liable for any injuries caused by the driver of such vehicle. The defense also claimed that our client's failure to wear a seatbelt primarily caused her injuries by allowing her to be ejected from the van. After lengthy litigation, the issue was ultimately resolved in our client's favor, holding that the rental company would be liable for any damages sustained by the occupants of the van. The rental company subsequently filed bankruptcy out of state, which caused us to remove the case out of bankruptcy back to Florida state courts. The case was ultimately settled just prior to trial for the sum of $2,500,000.00.
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