Pedestrian’s head injury worsens when hit by car 

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A developmentally delayed man hit by a car while walking on a road at night reached a $2.3 million settlement with the driver who hit him, according to his attorney.

James D. O’Leary Jr. of O’Leary, Shelton, Corrigan, Peterson, Dalton & Quillin said the accident occurred at around 4 a.m. on Aug. 11, 2016, on a highway service road in St. Louis County. The plaintiff was walking back to his house when the driver, who was on the way to work at a fast food restaurant, struck him.

O’Leary said the driver believed he’d struck a deer and did not stop, but he called family members shortly after the incident. Another driver saw the pedestrian laying in the road and called the police and ambulance. 

The man suffered fractures to his right arm and both legs, as well as a head injury that aggravated a pre-existing traumatic brain injury he’d sustained as a 5-year old child.

O’Leary said his accident reconstruction expert showed that the car more likely than not struck the man on the shoulder of the road, as opposed to the middle of the road where the police alleged it occurred, and that had the driver been paying adequate attention he would have seen the pedestrian about 100 feet before impact and could have avoided the collision.

The driver disputed liability, arguing that the plaintiff was wearing dark clothing and camouflaged shorts while walking in the dark on the wrong side of the shoulder with traffic as opposed to against it. 

The driver alleged that proper supervision of the man would have prevented the incident. He also disputed the extent of the pedestrian’s head injury and argued that his mental, emotional and functional ability and condition was no different after the impact as before.

O’Leary said the plaintiff would likely not be able to continue to live with his family and would have to live in a supervised or partially supervised residential setting. 

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