CASE SUMMARY:
The plaintiff wife (“wife”) was driving the plaintiff husband (“husband”) home after his first chemotherapy treatment when they were struck by another vehicle. The defendant admitted that he was reaching in the back seat and lost control of his vehicle.
The crash occurred directly in front of a fire department, so EMTs were on scene immediately. The plaintiffs needed help exiting their vehicles. The wife’s right arm was deformed and painful and the husband was having difficulty breathing. They were both taken to Lahey Clinic.
Once at Lahey, both were examined by emergency room personnel. The wife’s arm was splinted and an orthopedic surgeon was contacted. The surgeon indicated that due to the extent of the arm fractures, surgery was needed immediately. The fractures were surgically repaired with open reduction and internal fixation, including a plate and screws. The wife was kept inpatient at the hospital for __ days and then transferred to a rehabilitation facility for physical and occupational therapy.
X-rays taken of the husband revealed several rib fractures, which accounted for the respiratory distress. The husband was admitted to the hospital so they could monitor his pulmonary function, which was significantly decreased following the crash and his injuries. The husband was also transferred to a rehabilitation facility for further monitoring of his pulmonary function.
The wife and husband were eventually discharged to their home where they had visiting nurses evaluate them. The wife eventually advanced to outpatient physical therapy. The husband’s condition deteriorated due to his underlying co-morbidities. He went to undergo surgery unrelated to his injuries in the crash and, unfortunately, he eventually died from complications relating to same.
The wife made a remarkable recovery given the extent of her arm fractures. She continued to suffer from decreased strength and decreased range of motion in her right arm. The wife had a very difficult time when her husband became ill because she did not have the strength to care for him by herself. This made his final days even more painful for her to witness.
The plaintiffs were successful in showing that while the husband did not die from injuries suffered in the crash, his end of life was made that much worse because of his incident-related injuries.
The claim settled for a total of $340,000.
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