FACTS AND ALLEGATIONS This claim for personal injury damages was brought on behalf of John and Jane Doe, husband and wife, who were riding their motorcycle on a semirural road in Sonoma County. John was driving the motorcycle with his wife as a passenger when a car, driven by an unknown driver in front of them, slowed down without any notice, pulled to the right as though they were making a right-hand turn, and then abruptly began making a U-turn directly in from of the plaintiffs, colliding into their motorcycle. The police report opined that John, the driver of the motorcycle, was the cause of the collision. However, the plaintiffs’ argued that the vehicle in front of them did not signal and abruptly, and without warning, crossed in to their path and knocked them both off of the motorcycle, causing considerable personal injury to both parties.

INJURIES As a result of the accident, John suffered multiple fractures to his right leg and ankle, lacerations, and loss of consciousness. Meanwhile his wife, who momentarily lost consciousness, was badly traumatized and went into shock, thinking her husband had been killed. John’s wife Jane was treated for lacerations, deep cuts and wounds, and a broken sacrum, and was briefly hospitalized. John spent several weeks hospitalized at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital and many weeks in rehabilitation following the accident. John was subsequently treated with follow-up surgery and physical therapy.

RESULT Due to the diligence of counsel, the appropriate experts were located and retained. Using the analysis provided by plaintiffs’ experts, counsel persuaded the insurance company to tender their policy limits to each plaintiff since plaintiff’s counsel was able to show that the other party in the collision was primarily at fault for negligently turning in front of the motorcycle, causing great bodily injury to John and Jane. It took approximately one and a half years to settle the case due to the complex nature of the accident reconstruction, expert testing disagreement, and working toward a fair global resolution.

SETTLEMENT John received $100,000 for his claims and Jane received $100,000 for her claims, which resulted in a global settlement.