Mr. Dale Phillips was a passenger in a vehicle traveling in Knoxville, Knox County, Tennessee. The driver of Mr. Phillips’ vehicle attempted to make a left turn and accelerated rapidly, losing control of his vehicle and striking a brick wall.

Mr. Phillips, 23 years old, sustained injuries including, but not limited to, L2 – L3 Chance fractures, L4 compression fracture, concussion, loss of consciousness, left ankle injury as well as a descending colon hematoma. He required a spinal fusion at L1 through L5 as well as an open reduction internal fixation of L3 burst fracture and decompressive laminectomy and foraminotomy at L3. He was inpatient at UT Medical Center for six days and sustained a significant amount of pain and suffering as well as limitations of his daily activities.

G3 settled this claim for one million dollars.

*We used the pseudonym, Dale Phillips, to protect our client.*

On June 15, 2018, our client was driving home from work just like she did every other day. During her daily commute, she was traveling through the right of way on a well known road in the industrial area. The defendant driver of a commercial vehicle failed stop for the traffic control sign, entering the intersection at a high rate of speed and violently struck our client’s vehicle. The impact forced her vehicle off the road, violently striking a utility pole.  Many involved in a car wreck undergo arduous treatment in the hopes of a full recovery. While the treatment is painful, expensive, and inconvenient, it is towards the goal of resuming life normally.

While Mrs. Jones was treated for her injuries, she developed a blood clot and passed. She was never able to reap the benefits of her treatment. Mrs. Jones sustained injuries including, but not limited to, five (5) fractured ribs, a fractured sternum, severely comminuted medial cuneiform fracture with extension into the TMT joint and intertarsal joint, displaced dorsal medial cuneiform fracture, headaches, numbness in extremities, anxiety and depression. She suffered significantly from the fractured ribs and sternum from the date of the accident, 15 June 2018, until her death on 11 July 2018. In addition, she underwent surgery and sustained immobility as well as loss of life and enjoyment with her family for those nearly four weeks.  

Tennessee Code Ann. § 20-5-113 states, “Where a person’s death is caused by the wrongful act, fault or omission of another and suit is brought for damages, as provided for by §§ 20-5-106 and 20-5-107, the party suing shall, if entitled to damages, have the right to recover for the mental and physical suffering, loss of time and necessary expenses resulting to the deceased from the personal injuries, and also the damages resulting to the parties for whose use and benefit the right of action survives from the death consequent upon the injuries received.”

Tennessee Code Ann. § 20-5-113 gives rise to a single cause of action vested in the representative of the decedent, under which two types of damages may be recovered: 1) Actual damages to the deceased, which include pain and suffering, medical expenses and funeral costs; and 2) Pecuniary value of the life of the deceased, based on life expectancy, age, condition of health and strength, capacity for labor and for earning money, and personal habits as to sobriety and industry. Alexander v. Beale St. Blues Co., 108 F. Supp. 2d 934, 1999 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 22251 (W.D. Tenn. 1999).

In Beard v. Brandson, 528 S.W.3d 487, 2017 Tenn. LEXIS 540, the Tennessee Supreme Court, while explaining Tenn. Code Ann. § 20-5-113 stated, “Thus, the statutory beneficiaries may recover both damages suffered by the decedent (like true survival statutes) and also damages suffered by the beneficiaries (like purely wrongful death statutes). “Hence, survivors of the deceased may recover damages for their losses suffered as a result of the death as well as damages sustained by the deceased from the time of injury to the time of death.” Jordan v. Baptist Three Rivers Hosp., 984 S.W.2d 593, 1999Tenn. LEXIS 43 (Tenn.1999) (emphasis in original) (citing Jones, 539 S.W.2d at 124); id. At 601 (holding that consortium-type damages suffered by the beneficiaries may be included as an element of the pecuniary value of the decedent in a wrongful death action).”

Loss of consortium may be considered when calculating the pecuniary value of a deceased’s life. Jordan, supra. Loss of consortium consists of several elements, encompassing not only tangible services provided by a family member, but also intangible benefits each family member receives from the continued existence of other family members, including attention, guidance, care, protection, training, companionship, cooperation, affection, love and in the case of a spouse, sexual relations.

G3 settled this claim for $750,000.00.

*We used the pseudonym, Danielle Jones, to protect our client.*

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Background

Mrs. Jennifer Welch* was sitting on her front porch swing, enjoying the August breeze, when her life changed forever. Reportedly, Jules Tree Service was nearby on Mrs. Welch’s street that day. Across the road from her house, one of their employees was trimming trees from the power lines and clearing brush. To help paint a more precise visual, this service was taking place less than 200 feet from her front porch.

To perform the brush clearance, this Jules Tree Service employee was using a 320 Series Bushhog. Our team was informed that this Bushhog was equipped with two rotating blades made from Falcon Steel— one of which fractured during the clearing that day and flew more than 105 feet across the road and struck Mrs. Welch in the lower left leg.

Her injuries were substantial and included a left distal tibia/fibula fracture that required open reduction internal fixation and acute hypoxic respiratory insufficiency. This injury exacerbated her pre-existing COPD and Mrs. Welch was flown by LifeStar to the University of Tennessee Medical Center, where a trauma alert was activated.

According to statements from witnesses at the scene, her left leg was nearly amputated by the force of the blade striking her. In addition to physical and mental pain and suffering, Mrs. Welch also sustained permanent immobility.

Repercussions

Today, Mrs. Welch is unable to do many of the activities she once loved due to her immobility. Before the accident-at-issue herein, she enjoyed fishing in the creeks and rivers around her home, which often required her to be able to climb up and down the banks in search of the “perfect spot.” Now, she is confined to fishing from a chair atop only flat areas and has trouble standing for any even slightly prolonged length of time.

While it has physically impacted her daily life in many ways, her immobility also affects her emotionally. For example, around the holidays, she is unable to decorate her home or yard the way she used to enjoy. Once an avid woodworker and craftswoman, Mrs. Welch often made her own seasonal decorations and says she’ll “really miss those hobbies and the joy they brought [her].”

A simple Google search led Mrs. Welch to G3 Help Me, where she found the information and help she needed. She decided G3 was the right fit for her after reading through countless online reviews and reputation testimonies from past clients.

Mrs. Welch made an informed decision to meet with Mr. Vande Brake, Attorney at Law, and Mrs. Christine Griffin, who went above and beyond to ensure she got what she deserved. Mrs. Griffin involved several industry specialists in this case, including Warren Forensics. Her extensive research on the type of metal and procedures related to this incident was invaluable during mediation between the client, steel manufacturer, and tree company.

This strict liability case was particularly complicated due to violations of numerous OSHA and other safety guidelines, so many weeks were spent preparing for the mediation in order to obtain the best possible result for Mrs. Welch.

The Result

After 8 hours of mediation, Attorney Vande Brake and Mrs. Griffin reached a fair settlement for Mrs. Welch. Because court is not always the best option for our clients, everyone was thrilled. Mrs. Welch received a settlement of $300,000 without incurring extra expenses for things like doctor’s depositions and accident reconstructions. In court, these things are often necessary to prove guilt and can greatly diminish the net proceeds of a client’s settlement. Then, in a worse case scenario, after incurring all that extra cost, time, and stress, a jury could find your claim is worth less than what you were first offered to settle.

In Mrs. Welch’s case, all of that was avoided and a fair, significantly-sized settlement was earned for our well-deserving client. Our hope is that the settlement provides Mrs. Welch the time she needs to heal from this traumatic incident without the difficult financial burden of injury-related monetary losses.

*In order to ensure our clients receive the highest level of privacy and respect, we do not disclose their personal information. The name provided for this case study is a pseudonym.