Man rear-ended by mail truck recovers for injuries from U.S. 

A federal judge ordered the U.S. government to pay more than $226,000 in damages to a man who was injured in a crash with a mail truck.

Mark A. Levin was to make a left turn from State Line Road in Kansas City on April 10, 2019, when he was rear-ended by a U.S. Postal Service van. He alleged injuries to his cervical spine and lumbosacral spine, and headaches, all of which are chronic, permanent and progressive.

Levin sued the United States of America under the Federal Tort Claims Act, resulting in a two-day bench trial in the U.S. District Court for Western District of Missouri. Richard Fisk of Beam-Ward, Kruse, Wilson & Fletes in Overland Park, Kansas, who represented Levin, said the government admitted liability before trial. But it contested the nature and extent of Levin’s injuries, medical bills, lost wages and noneconomic damages, arguing that he sustained only a minor sprain that healed in three months.

The defendant claimed that the plaintiff’s reasonable and necessary medical bills totaled around $3,185 and suggested that the court award damages around $30,000.

Judge Gary A. Fenner, however, awarded a total of $226,663.29. In findings of fact and conclusions of law, he found that Levin had lost about $7,700 in wages during the time that his injuries and use of medication prevented him from driving for Uber, and that his physical therapy, chiropractic care, massage therapy and other treatment amounted to nearly $54,000. He also was awarded $165,000 in pain and suffering damages.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office has subsequently asked the court to reduce the medical portion of the award to about $23,500, which it said reflects the “actual cost” of Levin’s treatment. The motion remains pending.

RELATED: Click to search for and submit your Verdicts & Settlements 

$226,663 judgment

Federal Tort Claims Act

Breakdown: $53,898.63 in medical, $7,764.66 in lost wages, $165,000 in pain and suffering

Venue: U.S. District Court for Western District of Missouri

Case Number/Date: 4:21-cv-00151/Sept. 15, 2022

Judge: Gary A. Fenner

Last Pretrial Offer: $50,000 offer of judgment

Caption: Mark Levin v. United States of America

Plaintiff’s Attorney: Richard Fisk, Beam-Ward, Kruse, Wilson & Fletes, Overland Park, Kansas

Defendant’s Attorneys: Elizabeth Hatting and Cari Walsh, U.S. Attorney’s Office, Kansas City