Eric Wilson
Fitzgerald v. Johnson – turning a $77,000 offer into a $1.45 million post-verdict settlement
April 15, 2025 5:30 PM||TLU n Demand
26 year old male, rear-end admitted liability case, urgent care the next day. The plaintiff, a Wal-Mart employee, returned to work a few days after the collision and started treating with a chiropractor 6 months’ post-collision. Plaintiff had a history of traumatic brain injury from a prior football injury and a history of chronic low back pain. Plaintiff submitted to injections and, after a 2.5 year gap in care, submitted to a lumbar disc replacement surgery.
State Farm offered $77,000 to settle the case; a jury returned a verdict in the amount of $933,500. The parties subsequently settled the case for $1.45 million.
The plaintiff was a 26-year-old young man working at Wal-Mart. He had a difficult upbringing and began having kids of his own when he was 17. In his early 20’s, he suffered a head-to-head football injury without a helmet, which resulted in significant and daily TBI symptoms. Years of hard labor resulted in chronic low back pain.
The collision involved an elderly woman who was driving to choir practice at night; she failed to see traffic stopped ahead of her and crashed into the back of the plaintiff’s car. The crash had significant long-term effects on the plaintiff, including changes in the severity of his pre-existing neurological symptoms, as well as his low back pain. Despite the pain, the plaintiff later left Wal-Mart to work at an Amazon warehouse, which paid more but required additional physical work.
The defendant argued that his traumatic brain injury was solely related to his football injury and that he was suffering from chronic low back pain before the collision occurred.
At trial, the defense asked the jury to award the plaintiff a range between nothing and $100,000.
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