The law firm of Coppola & Marlin recently settled a case on behalf of a young man who was severely injured in a
head-on automobile collision
. The 30 year old husband and father of two young children worked at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center as a research scientist. He was on his lunch break and was returning to work after eating at a fast food restaurant. As he was driving along a frontage road in Commerce City, another driver traveling in the opposite direction crossed the center line and hit his vehicle head-on. The other driver told the investigating police officer that he was on his way to a business meeting and became distracted while looking for an address in his day planner. When he looked back up, he realized that he had crossed the center line and into oncoming traffic, but he was unable to avoid the collision.
As a result of the collision, the client suffered catastrophic injuries, including multiple bone fractures and a
severe traumatic brain injury. He was in a coma for approximately 3 months and was hospitalized for a total of 8 months. He incurred over $1,600,000.00 in medical and rehabilitation bills. Due to his brain injury, he was unable to return to his prior employment as a research assistant. An economist hired by Coppola & Marlin estimated the client’s future economic damages to have a net present value of more than $13,500,000.00.
Coppola & Marlin filed a lawsuit on behalf of the young man and his wife against the responsible driver and the driver’s employer. The defendant driver was a regional sales manager for a California computer component distributer. Under Colorado law, an employer can be held liable for the negligent acts of an employee while the employee is acting within the course and scope of his or her employment. The responsible driver was insured under an automobile liability policy and an umbrella liability policy. His employer was insured under a business auto policy and an umbrella liability policy. Coppola & Marlin settled the case against both the responsible driver and his employer for a confidential amount two months before trial. Coppola & Marlin also settled an underinsured motorist claim against the client’s own automobile insurance company.
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