A husband and wife of 20 years were driving through Pensacola after attending a funeral in South Florida.  Having to bury a loved one is hard enough.  However, when this Midwest couple's journey home made it as far as Pensacola by way of Interstate 10 (I-10), their lives were inextricably changed forever.   

The husband heard the sounds of squealing tires and crumbling metal before he realized that he was going to be hit hard from behind and there was nothing that could be done to prevent it.  Moments later, his pelvis was broken in several places, his ribs were broken and his lungs severely bruised.  His wife laid next him in the passenger seat dizzy and confused having suffered a severe concussion and damage to her spine.  

The driver of the 18 wheeler couldn't stop his vehicle in time before careening into the stopped traffic ahead of him.  He only looked away for a second or two to send a text message before he realized the traffic ahead of him had stopped. Those few moments were enough to prevent the driver from keeping a safe lookout while operating his tractor trailer. Operating a vehicle without keeping a proper lookout is legal negligence-especially when that vehicle weighs 80,000 pounds.  

As a result of someone else's few inattentive moments, the husband spent weeks in an out-of-town hospital away from his friends and family.  After undergoing several surgeries and spending weeks in a Pensacola hospital, the husband and wife finally completed their fateful trip back home after attending the funeral in South Florida.  Their plans of retiring and traveling the country together were cast aside by physical therapy, doctors' visits, and the mountain of medical bills that were not covered by their insurance.    

These victims hired Taylor, Warren & Weidner to help them recover enough compensation to put them back on track to retirement and travel. The case was quickly mediated before litigation. The husband and wife were compensated for their medical expenses, their lost wages, and for the permanent injuries they will have for the rest of their lives.  The couple was provided fair compensation without having to deal with the time, expense, and uncertainty of litigation.  

The key to this quick resolution, said Phillip Warren, were the "lay witnesses who came forward to explain what they saw- they were key."  Oftentimes attorneys quickly hire expensive experts to try to "recreate" the accident to help explain what happened and more importantly what went wrong.  Although experts have their place, they can never take the place of a witness who actually saw and heard what happened with their own senses.    

Phillip Warren located and interviewed several witness to the accident. Internet searches
articles, photographs and even video of the scene were located. Mr. Warren also interviewed the couple's friends and family in the Midwest so that he could understand who these people were and how they were impacted by this unfortunate accident.  

Mr. Warren was able to compile this information and effectively present it to the truck driver's lawyers at mediation. Thoroughly obtaining all of the evidence at such an early stage of the case and presenting it at mediation helped convince the truck driver's lawyers the risk they faced if they did not come to terms with what happened.  To the credit of the negligent driver's lawyers who fairly evaluated their client's risk based on the evidence presented by Mr. Warren, all parties were able to resolve their differences and reach a compromised agreement. The case resulted in a substantial confidential settlement. The truck driver was able to get closure on a poor decision with devastating consequences. Most importantly, the couple can start to put this terrible experience behind them and move forward with their lives the best they can despite their injuries.