The Crash

One Wednesday afternoon in February 2023, a longtime Virginia Beach public servant and Navy veteran was driving his 2017 Honda Accord on Kempsville Road in Norfolk. He had proudly served four years in the Navy, worked for the City of Virginia Beach for 30 years, and was remembered by his colleagues as someone who cared deeply about the city's development. He was also a devoted father who shared a lifelong love of aviation and hockey with his son.

At around 12:54 p.m., he was driving through the intersection at Kempsville Circle when a commercial tractor-trailer failed to stop at a red light. The truck struck the driver’s side of our client’s car. Emergency medical teams responded to the scene and transported him by ambulance to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, where he reported chest, rib, and neck pain. Hospital records noted the impact occurred at around 40 miles per hour.

The Medical Crisis

At the hospital, our client underwent a series of tests, and his initial head imaging was read as negative. He was discharged later that evening. However, once he returned home, his condition changed quickly. His son flew in from Florida to help care for him at his home in Virginia Beach as his health declined.

Within 24 hours of the crash, his son had to call 911 for an emergency ambulance. Back at the hospital, an emergency scan revealed a large subdural hematoma (bleeding around the brain). Our client was placed on a breathing machine and taken into emergency surgery for a craniotomy, a procedure where doctors open part of the skull to try to relieve pressure on the brain. Tragically, the internal damage was too severe to reverse, and he passed away on February 5, 2023.

The Investigation

When David Holt of Smith Law Center and our legal team took on the case, we faced a major hurdle with the medical timeline. Because the first hospital scan was negative and the brain bleed was discovered later, the defense did not admit fault or that the crash caused his death.

To protect the family, our team went to work to bridge the gap. We hired an independent emergency medicine doctor to review the complete medical file. This medical reviewer connected the fatal brain bleed to the impact of the tractor-trailer crash, providing key support to address the defense's timing and causation arguments, and ruled out any medical malpractice issues.

At the same time, we launched a thorough investigation into the commercial trucking entities involved. When the truck was moved out of state, our team tracked it down in Dallas, Texas, and flew a Virginia expert out to inspect it. Through a careful review of corporate paperwork, we found that the primary trucking company was tied to the load, but the truck title history connected BSL Logistics, LLC, to the tractor because the driver was making truck payments directly to them.

The Accountability

By proving the medical connection and identifying additional corporate entities tied to the vehicle, David Holt and our legal team secured a total recovery of $1,100,000 for the estate.

The settlement included the full $1,000,000 liability policy limit available from the primary trucking company and the driver. Because our team identified the secondary truck-titling paperwork, we were able to secure an additional $100,000 from BSL Logistics' insurance carrier, ensuring an additional recovery for the family.

You do not have to handle a serious injury claim alone. When you need someone to stand up for you, WE HIT BACK. Contact our team today for a free, confidential consultation.