Graves v. Polick

Stafford County Circuit Court 2009: The client was a nine year- old boy who was a passenger in his mother’s van when it was struck head-on on a winding road. The young boy had no visible injuries but acted oddly after the accident. Two days after the accident he was having balance problems and was taken to the hospital. He was diagnosed with a mild traumatic brain injury and followed by a pediatric neurologist who determined shortly thereafter that he was recovered and should have no future problems. The client’s symptoms continued. He saw a different doctor who determined that the boy needed additional rehabilitation. Although a good student, he still had some cognitive problems. His total medical bills for treatment were about $13,000. The defense (insurance company) argued that the boy had a full recovery shortly after the wreck and any problems he had now was just do to becoming a teenager. After months of stalled settlement negotiations the insurance company said that they would not pay more than $40,000. After I filed suit in the case and was able to obtain a report from a neuropsychologist that client has on-going cognitive problems, I was able to finally convince the insurance company to settle the case for $85,000.