When you walk away from a “minor” without a scratch, it is easy to assume you escaped unscathed. Even insurance companies and defense lawyers will argue that a low-impact crash could not possibly cause lasting harm. 

However, for Dan Mleziva, what appeared to be a simple rear-end collision led to chronic headaches, cognitive difficulties, and eventually brain surgery.

After several years of litigation, a seven-day trial, and just two and a half hours of jury deliberation, Smith Law Center won a $17.5 million verdict on Dan's behalf. David Holt, one of the attorneys who tried the case, shares the story behind the verdict and the injuries that were not immediately apparent after the crash.

At Smith Law Center, we know how to recognize the signs of a traumatic brain injury, uncover the evidence others may miss, and show how these injuries affect every part of a person's life. With generations of experience handling complex brain injury cases, we know what it takes to make an invisible injury seen and understood. 

If you or someone you love has suffered a brain injury, call us at (757) 244-7000 or complete our online contact form to schedule a free consultation.

How a "Simple" Rear-End Crash Led to a $17.5 Million Verdict

The warm summer day of June 30, 2021, will forever be known as a day that changed Dan Mleziva’s life. It was a simple rear-end accident, one of over 4,000 that occur each day in the United States. 

The other driver was a coach for a Virginia private school and was driving home from a competition, operating a school vehicle under the scope of his employment. The case was litigated for several years. Liability, or being “at fault,” was admitted about a week before trial.

The trial was all about the amount and value of damage that had been done in what most people often see to be a simple rear-end collision. Brain injuries, including what are known as mild traumatic brain injuries (mTBIs), are difficult to diagnose. 

There is no X-ray or MRI that can show an mTBI like a broken leg or arm. Bruising and trauma are often covered by the hairline. But you don’t even have to hit your head to sustain an mTBI. If you’ve ever had that “splitting” headache and someone says, “What’s wrong?” it’s because they cannot see your pain, or in Dan’s case, his brain injury. It’s the reason it is commonly known as the “invisible injury.”

When Headaches Were Only the Beginning

Chronic headaches were just the beginning of Dan’s suffering. He endured daily, painful headaches that interrupted his home life and work functions. His ability to analyze problems in a fast-paced environment was diminished. His work performance suffered, and his livelihood was in jeopardy.

It was later determined that he developed hydrocephalus, an enlargement of the brain’s ventricles, and was in need of brain surgery to install a shunt to relieve pressure in the brain. A shunt is a medical device that is commonly used to drain excess cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Hydrocephalus is a condition that can impair a person’s ability to function, from the basics of memory to motor skills, coordination, and balance. 

An mTBI affects all functional areas, including executive function, which allows a human to plan, focus, set goals, and achieve outcomes. What many without a brain injury do not understand is that these impaired executive functions can impact split-second decisions during an emergency, or deep-thinking reasoning and strategy in business or family affairs. The shunt helped, but it did not relieve Dan of the symptoms he suffered from the TBI.

Relentless Trial Preparation Delivers a $17.5 Million Jury Verdict

The Smith Law Center trial team consisted of David Holt, Stewart Gill, Samantha Cohn, and veteran brain injury lawyer Stephen M. Smith. The trial lasted for seven days. Eighteen- to 20-hour days of relentless preparation, analysis, and scrutiny went into our arguments on behalf of Dan Mleziva and his family. After two and a half hours of deliberation, the jury returned a verdict of $17,500,000.

Dan and his family trusted our firm and our entire team to tell his story, and a jury of his peers listened, holding the at-fault party accountable for the true, lifelong cost of his injury. 

Results like this do not happen by accident. They come from decades of focused medical and legal experience, paired with a willingness to prepare every single case as if it will go before a jury.

What Dan’s Victory Means for Brain Injury Survivors Everywhere

Dan Mleziva’s $17.5 million verdict is about much more than a dollar amount. For years, Dan lived with a life-altering injury that nobody around him could see, while the defense tried to treat a routine rear-end crash like a minor inconvenience. 

By standing with Dan, this jury sent an unmistakable message to insurance companies and defense lawyers across the country: a lack of visible injuries does not mean a lack of serious harm, and the effects of a brain injury cannot be measured by what others can see.

Too often, brain injuries go unrecognized by insurance adjusters and overlooked by law firms that lack experience in complex neurotrauma. For over 77 years, Smith Law Center has fought to ensure these injuries are fairly compensated, recovering more than $1 billion for injured clients nationwide. 

Reach out to our team at (757) 244-7000 or contact us online for a free, compassionate consultation to get the answers and advocacy your family deserves.