Man settles with insurer for $1M after head-on collision

A man who suffered spinal injuries in a head-on collision negotiated a $1 million settlement with the at-fault driver’s insurer, according to his attorney. 

EC Duckworth of The AW Smith Law Firm said his client, Steven Janicki, was driving westbound on Nifong Boulevard in Columbia on Dec. 27, 2019, around 5 p.m. As Janicki sat stopped in the left turn lane, Robynn Tinker exited a parking lot on the north side of the roadway and attempted to make a left turn onto eastbound Nifong. 

Tinker’s 2017 Toyota Highlander collided head-on with the front of Janicki’s stationary 2019 Honda Insight. Following the collision, Duckworth said Janicki was diagnosed with left L5-S1 herniated nucleus pulposus with radiculopathy, and complex regional pain syndrome of his right upper extremity. 

Janicki underwent a L5-S1 laminectomy and medial facetectomy and microdiscectomy. Following a successful spinal cord stimulator trial to address ongoing low back pain and lumbar radiculopathy, Janicki received a spinal cord stimulator last December.

Duckworth said the settlement was reached with Tinker’s insurance carrier prior to litigation.  

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$1 million settlement

Motor Vehicle Collision

Venue: Boone County

Case Number/Date: Not filed/June 8, 2022

Plaintiff’s Expert: Michell C. Mullins, Springfield (life care planning)

Insurer: Acuity Insurance

Caption: Steven Janicki v. Robynn Tinker

Plaintiff’s Attorney: EC Duckworth, The AW Smith Law Firm, Columbia