Robert Brahan awarded $2.2 MM jury verdict
On April 2, 2021, an rental company employee parked his 18-wheeler on the right shoulder of Eraste Landry Road in Lafayette so that he could retrieve a forklift located down a private driveway off the right side of the road. His intent was to pull the forklift onto Eraste Landry Road, drive on the roadway to the back of his 18-wheeler, and load the forklift onto the flatbed trailer of his 18-wheeler.
When the 18-wheeler driver got to the end of the driveway and prepared to make a left hand turn onto the roadway, his 18-wheeler blocked his view of oncoming traffic and prevented approaching vehicles from seeing the forklift. Ignoring his obstructed view and without providing any warning to approaching drivers, he pulled the forklift onto Eraste Landry and crashed into the passenger side of plaintiff’s vehicle. Following the initial impact, our client crashed into a street sign and skidded to a stop on the side of the road.
As the result of the collision, our 41-year-old client suffered injuries to his cervical and lumbar spine including bulging discs at C3-4, C4-5, and C5-6 and a herniation at L4-5. Our client’s initial treatment included chiropractic care, physical therapy, and prescription medication that failed to resolve his symptoms. By April 2022, his treating doctors told him that he had two treatment options going forward: epidural steroid injections and surgery.