Sure, everyone knows the old adage about
what a picture is worth, but what about a video? Turns out that in
the world of high-stakes personal injury litigation, a video can
help to make a case worth more than $6.3 million.
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That's what attorneys Robert J. Mongeluzzi and Larry Bendesky of
Saltz Mongeluzzi Barrett & Bendesky say in describing how they
achieved a mediated settlement of $6.35 million in an Essex County,
N.J., case on behalf of a construction surveyor who suffered a
traumatic brain injury when he was struck by a truck being driven
in reverse by an unlicensed driver whose view was badly
obstructed.
In the suit, Andrus v. Roman Asphalt Inc., Mongeluzzi
and Bendesky put together a 20-page mediation memo that described
in graphic detail the incident that led to Christopher Andrus'
injuries as well as their client's long and difficult
rehabilitation, including learning how to walk and talk
again.
The memo includes eight photographs, beginning with one of Andrus
with his wife and two children before the accident, as well as the
pickup truck loaded with debris and equipment that struck him, and
close-up photos of Andrus' scars. It also includes numerous
anatomical drawings that help describe the nature of his
injuries.
But both lawyers say that one of the most important tools they
brought to the settlement table was a video made by their
colleague, attorney Eunice Trevor, that captured the devastating
nature of Andrus' injuries, his grueling rehabilitation, and the
lasting effects his brain injury has had on his home and work
life.
Trevor, who specializes in developing the evidence of damages in
injury cases, said the 20-minute video "is like a
mini-documentary," and that it proved to be especially powerful
evidence because it was started so soon after Andrus' injury.
Mongeluzzi said many lawyers use videos, but don't begin filming
until years after the accident and therefore capture only the
lasting effects of the injury.
"This showed the process from the beginning. You see Chris
literally learning to walk again, and the painstaking, tedious
rehabilitation he went through," Mongeluzzi said.
Trevor said that later segments of the video were also compelling
because they captured the effects that the brain injury has had on
Andrus' family and work life.
In one segment, a woman who hired Andrus to work as an assistant
in a church thrift shop explained that he sometimes has
difficulties with simple tasks, such as putting price labels on
used books. His wife was also interviewed and described her
husband's difficulties in controlling his emotions ever since the
frontal lobe injury.
According to court papers, on Oct. 7, 2003, Andrus was working for
W.T. Rogers Inc. as the chief surveyor on a roadway construction
project on the New Jersey Turnpike.
At the time of the accident, Andrus and a co-worker were marking
the road as part of their survey in a "construction-only" zone that
was separated from the turnpike traffic by two rows of concrete
barriers.
According to the suit, as Andrus was walking to another spot to
mark, he was struck by Lonzo Young, an unlicensed driver and
employee of Roman Asphalt, who was driving Roman's pickup truck in
reverse in the construction zone.
The suit stated that the back bed of the truck was filled with
construction equipment that obstructed the rear view, but Young was
driving in reverse at a speed of up to 30 miles per hour.
The suit says the truck crashed into Andrus with such force that a
portion of his scalp "was torn away and embedded into the rear bed
door." A photo in the mediation memo shows the chunk of scalp and
hair that was found on the truck's back door after the
accident.
Andrus was thrown more than 30 feet, the suit says, and "his
broken, battered body came to rest in a pool of his own
blood."
In the suit, the plaintiff's lawyers argued that Roman had
violated workplace safety rules by allowing a truck to be driven in
a construction site with an obstructed view and no reverse signal
alarm or outside observer to direct the driver and clear his
path.
According to court papers, the driver, Young, was asked in his
deposition: "Do you think that this accident could have been
avoided?" He answered: "Yes, maybe if I was driving a little bit
slower and more carefully."
Medical records show that Andrus was diagnosed with a traumatic
brain injury; subdural hematoma; and subarchoid hematoma with
prolonged loss of consciousness.
Due to the pressure build-up and bleeding in the brain, Andrus had
to undergo two craniotomies - a procedure in which power tools are
used to saw through and remove portions of the skull to access the
brain - and drainage tubes were then implanted to help relieve the
pressure.
After spending nearly a month in the hospital, Andrus was
transferred to a rehabilitation institute where he spent nearly
three months as an in-patient, receiving extensive therapy to help
him relearn how to walk, talk and function with his brain
injury.
That was followed by another seven months of out-patient
therapy.
Mongeluzzi said that although Andrus now appears to have improved
considerably, he suffered permanent damage to his cognitive
abilities and personality, as well as his senses of taste, smell,
sight and hearing.
In addition to more than $960,000 in medical expenses he has
already incurred, an expert witness testified that Andrus' future
medical costs are likely to exceed $800,000.
Another doctor testified that Andrus has lost partial sight in one
eye.
A third doctor said in his report that Andrus is "completely and
permanently disabled," and has "diminished cognitive abilities and
profound neurobehavioral disorders." The report went on to say that
Andrus has experienced "only minimal improvement" and "suffers from
an inability to control his behavior."
The report concluded that "through the remainder of his life
[Andrus] will need constant supervision in the home."