What is the settlement value of a cervical spine soft tissue case for a fifty four year old home companion plaintiff who was rear ended in Waterbury auto accident but sustained no wage loss and suffered no emergency room reported personal injury complaints? The Rotatori Law Firm recently settled such a cervical spine strain, sprain automobile rear end collision case for $ 30,000.00. The Waterbury, Connecticut plaintiff was a passenger in her friends automobile. The driver and her plaintiff passenger were travelling southbound on the Silver Street Expressway in Waterbury, Connecticut near the Brass City Mall. The plaintiff was on her way to work in Woodbury, Connecticut. The driver approached a stationary State of Connecticut DOT truck doing road work in the right hand lane and slowed down. The defendant motor vehicle owner/operator from Thomaston, Connecticut then proceeded to rear end the plaintiff's car. The facts of the case were fully investigated and documented by the The Rotatori Law Firm's private investigator Lara Kolesnik.
The defendant admitted at the accident scene that she was feeling sick just prior to the collision. The plaintifff argued that the defendant should have gotten off the roadway having failed to keep her motor vehicle under reasonable and proper control. The collision caused the plaintiff operator's motor vehicle to move approximately one half a car length at impact. The plaintiff operator was unable to maintain brake pressure due to the force at impact. The DOT truck was not involved in this roadway collission.
The plaintiff passenger had no reported injuries at the emergency room. She went to the emergency room because she suffered an elevated blood pressure at the accident scene. Within 48 hours, the plaintiff developed cervical neck strain. A chiropractic physician treating the plaintiff performed a nerve sensory CPT test and documented a very mild C8 sensory nerve injury.
The likelyhood that this sensory nerve root injury would have been documented by way of an EMG often used by a neurologist or pain management specialist is next to nothing. The EMG test is test sensitive to motor loss. The CPT test tests for sensory loss. The chiropractic physician assigned 7 % impairment to the 54 year old home companion/aid's cervical spine based on the Fifth Edition of the AMA Guide.
There was no wage loss or impairment of earning capacity. The plaintiff had no prior cervical spine injuries or preexisting symptomatic conditions. The plaintiff worked through her cervical discomfort to a fairly reasonable cervical pain resolution upon reaching her maximum medical improvement. The plaintiff was consistent with her treatment as this was an important factor in the successful resolution of her case as many soft tissue cases are destroyed by inconsistent medical and chiropractic care.