Serious Auto Accident in Juno Beach, Florida Results in Surgical Intervention
Our victim in this Florida automobile accident case is a 51 year old married man who lives in Palm Beach Gardens with his wife and children.
On this particular evening, he was traveling northbound in the left inside lane on U.S. Highway One in Juno Beach, when another driver attempted to cross the northbound lanes of traffic and struck the left side and rear of the victim’s vehicle, causing the victim to spin out of control, cross over the concrete median and into the southbound lanes. Luckily, no other vehicles were involved. According to the police report in this case, the other driver was found at fault due to her failure to yield the right of way.
The victim was transported to Jupiter Medical Center immediately following this auto accident due to severe lower back pain. He was treated accordingly and released with the appropriate prescriptions and orders to follow with a physician regarding his injuries.
Over the next several weeks, the victim developed severe lower back pain and neck pain with radicular symptoms into his left arm. These issues prompted him to seek treatment with a chiropractor in Jupiter, Florida. The chiropractor prescribed conservative therapy to include chiropractic manipulation, electric stimulation, ultrasound and therapeutic massage.
Due to his continuing complaints of neck pain, the chiropractor prescribed an MRI of the cervical spine, which revealed a C6-7 central disc herniation, which impinged upon the anterior cervical cord. The positive and serious result of the cervical MRI prompted the treating chiropractor to refer the victim for a neurosurgical consultation.
The neurosurgeon agreed with the MRI findings and recommended proceeding with epidural injections and advised the victim that he was at increased risk for further spinal cord injury due to the extent of his cord impingement. Over the next several months, the victim underwent three posterior cervical epidural steroid injections with epidurography using C-arm fluoroscopy. Unfortunately, the conservative therapy and injections did not improve the victim’s condition. Therefore, it was the opinion of the neurosurgeon that the victim’s only hope for relief was surgical intervention in the form of a multi-level cervical fusion at a cost of approximately $100,000.00 and indicated that the victim had incurred an 11% impairment to the body as a whole due to the injuries sustained in this motor vehicle accident.
The victim was left with no alternative but to undergo the surgery recommended. Of course, this necessitated a lengthy recovery period, time missed from work, and his inability to function normally with his wife and children for quite some time. Not to mention the medical expenses he incurred in excess of $196,000.00.
The victim and his wife sought the assistance of Attorney Richard D. Schuler for help in getting their lives back to some degree of normalcy. Mr. Schuler filed suit against the other driver in this matter and was successful in reaching a substantial settlement without the necessity of a trial. Now the victim and his family will be able to take care of all of their medical expenses, including future medical expenses that will be required, and the victim will be able to relax and recuperate as needed.
