Philly Driver And Passenger Hit From The Front By a Defendant Backing Up In Traffic
September 2023
In this case, the Claimant was a 69 year old woman who had just picked up her sister in Center City to take her shopping. While stopped in traffic behind two cars, our client watched as the driver in front of her got very agitated and impatient. He started backing up slowly in reverse then suddenly hit the gas, causing his car to slam into the front of our client's sedan. The defendant was trying to back up and swerve around the car that was stopped and apparently disabled in front of his. In his fit of road rage, he accidentally slammed his foot on the gas forgetting that he was still in Reverse. The impact crushed the front of our client's car and she instantly felt pain in her neck and back. Later follow up care revealed a cervical herniation requiring months of physical therapy and eventually, a set of spinal injections to get the pain under control. The defendant driver turned out to have no insurance. Thankfully, our client had the common sense to have bought $25,000 in stacked uninsured motorist coverage. We were able to resolve the case amicably without litigation for the full policy limit of $50,000.
Practice area(s): Car / Auto Accident
Court: Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas