$3.5M settlement for St. Louis couple run over while in South Carolina

A St. Louis couple who were severely injured while traveling in South Carolina reached a $3.5 million settlement, according to their attorney.

Chris Finney of Finney Injury Law in Brentwood said the husband and wife were on a sidewalk when the driver of an Audi SUV pulled out of a shopping center. The vehicle came to rest on the husband’s leg.

He suffered multiple skull fractures and brain damage, spending six days in the hospital before returning to St. Louis, Finney said. The wife suffered a torn MCL.

Finney said surveillance footage from a business showed how the incident occurred, and that 911 calls from witnesses supported the plaintiffs’ claims that the defendant failed to yield the right of way to the plaintiffs who were lawfully on the sidewalk.

According to Finney, the defense contended the plaintiffs were at fault by walking in front of the defendant and, through expert testimony, contested that the plaintiffs were on the sidewalk. Finney said the defendant presented multiple reconstructions and attempted to use human factors experts to support the claims. The federal judge overseeing the case ultimately struck the human factors expert and severely limited the testimony of the defense accident reconstructionist to the facts of the case.

The defense also claimed the plaintiff had fully recovered, with a medical expert testifying that the plaintiff made a miraculous recovery and experienced an “asymptomatic brain injury” or “non-functional brain injury,” Finney said.

Finney said his client did make a strong recovery and continues to live independently with his wife. After a March 2020 trial setting was continued to sometime in 2021, mediation that previously had been unsuccessful resumed, ultimately resulting in the settlement.

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