Maynard Secures $544K Settlement for Motorcyclist Hit By SUV

Type of action: SUV v. Motorcycle Collision – Drunk Driver

Injuries: Left Hip Fracture (Comminuted Intertrochanteric fracture), subsequent trochanteric bursitis and the femoral shaft fracture. The hip fracture required surgery (Intramedullary nail fixation). Permanent Partial Disability Ratings: 10% whole person / 25% left leg.

Name of case: Confidential                                                       

Court (include county): N/A (Venue would have been Buncombe County or Western District of North Carolina)   

Case #: N/A                                    

Special damages: Medical bills $175,000; “adjusted” medical bills $80,000 

Verdict or settlement: Settlement 

Amount: $544,872.50 [$505,000 – bodily injury / $39,872.50 property damage (paid in addition to the previously paying for the total loss of the motorcycle)]

Date of verdict/settlement: January 2023              

Insurance carriers: Nationwide – Liability; GEICO – Primary UIM (Delaware policy – No Offset for Liability Coverage); USAA – Excess UIM (Delaware policy – – No Offset for Liability Coverage)

Attorneys for plaintiff: C. Douglas Maynard, Jr., Law Offices of C. Douglas Maynard, Jr., PLLC (Winston-Salem, N.C.); Lawrance S. Kimmel, Kimmel Carter, Newark, Delaware

Attorney for defendant: None                                          

Person submitting report: C. Douglas Maynard, Jr.                           

Description of the case

A 72-year-old retired Delaware State Trooper rides his motorcycle on the Blue Ridge Parkway. He stops in Asheville for the night and is headed home from dinner when he turns left onto Tunnel Road on a green light. A 69-year-old man drives his Ford Fusion SUV fast, weaving down Tunnel Road, and runs a red light slamming into left side of Plaintiff’s body and motorcycle.

The SUV driver’s blood alcohol level is 0.33 (over four times the legal limit). An hour earlier he had run into the side of the Holiday Inn off Tunnel Road and left the scene. His bumper is still dragging from that collision when he strikes Plaintiff.

EMS transport Plaintiff to Asheville Memorial Hospital where he undergoes surgery of his hip fracture the following day with insertion of a cephalomedullary / intermediary nail. He is hospitalized for four days then discharged to a rehabilitation facility for approximately eleven days before being able to return home to Delaware.

During his recovery in Delaware he descends the steps at his townhouse and slips off the last step as his left leg buckles under him causing him to fall which requires another hospitalization for three or four days and then another stay in a rehabilitation facility for eleven or twelve days. After the fall, his doctor notes what appears to be a hinged new fracture to the mid-shaft of the femur with stable fixation from previous internal fixation. His doctor opines:

I feel this fall is directly related to the motor vehicle collision as his fracture resulted in leg weakness. Additionally, the femur shaft fracture that was identified around the intramedullary nail was also related to the motor vehicle collision as this most likely was an incomplete fracture that was unidentified at that time and had been stabilized with placement of the long cephalomedullary / intramedullary nail.            

His injuries significantly impact his lifestyle. The injuries leave Plaintiff with a permanent limp, and he has difficulty ascending and descending stairs. He no longer rides a motorcycle. Formerly, an avid golfer, he now limps through nine holes of golf with an altered swing, instead of the eighteen he enjoyed on a frequent basis before the crash.