DUMP TRAILER HITS OVERPASS
Ainlay v. Wollnick, et al.
Case #2004CV3267
Judge: ***
Court: Adams District Court
Plaintiff’s Attorney: Larry D. Lee of
the law firm of Larry D. Lee, P.C.
Defendants’ Attorney: Robert McCormick
of the law firm of Hall and Evans, P.C.
Type of Claim: Rear end automobile/truck case
– but not your typical rear end case. On October 2, 2002, at approximately
3:00 p.m., the Plaintiff was westbound on a highway in the State of Colorado and
she was following a semi-tractor dump trailer rig. The dump trailer rose as
the rig approached an overpass. The dump trailer hit the overpass and the
trailer separated from the tractor, and the trailer rolled slightly backward.
The Plaintiff, following behind, could not stop, skid and collided with the dump
trailer. The rig’s tractor continued under the overpass and came to
a final rest on the roadway some distance beyond the overpass. The overpass
sustained severe structural damage. The Plaintiff was seriously injured.
Injuries: Closed head injury/concussive injury
(otolithic dysfunction; motion provoked dizziness; headaches); midshaft left clavicular
fracture; left pneumothorax with a tube placement; #4 left rib fracture and/or four
fractured ribs with two bruised ribs; temporomandibular joint injury; jaw out of
place, which also affects headaches; pelvic injury/left groin hematoma; left shoulder
injury; head, neck, back pain syndrome; sore neck; depression and driving anxiety;
migraine headaches; hip knocked out of place; and sore quad muscles.
Demand: Single limit insurance policy.
Plaintiff’s Expert Witnesses: Colorado
State Patrol Officer Heath Griscavig; Phil Smith (Analysis, Inc.) on truck accident
reconstruction; Don Vogenthaler, Rh.D. on vocational assessment; John Scott, P.E.
(Faye Engineering) on the truck’s PTO system; Tracy Smith/Michael Sankey (Colorado
Department of Transportation) on the damage to the bridge overpass; Ashok Babu,
M.D./John Birch, M.D./ Christopher Rayburn, M.D./ Michael J. Repine, M.D./Jacqueline
Krumrey, M.D. (Denver Health Medical Center) on Plaintiff’s injuries; James
Colt, D.D.S. (Oral Facial Pain Associates) on the Plaintiff’s TMJ injury;
Steve Nadler, M.D. (Northwest Orthopedic Associates, P.C.) on Plaintiff’s
mid-shaft fracture, left clavicle and hematoma left groin; Christopher Centeno,
M.D./James Elliott, P.T. (The Centeno Clinic) on treatment and ongoing problems;
Mitchell Seeman, M.D. (Panorama Orthopedics, P.C.) on Plaintiff’s ongoing
orthopedic injuries; Christopher A. Pierce, Ph.D. (Neuropsychological Consultants,
LLC) on Plaintiff’s head injury; Mark Vlosky, Ph.D. psychologist on Plaintiff’s
depression; Barbara Esses, M.D. (Denver Ear Associates) on Plaintiff’s dizziness
and the tests that she conducted; Linda Csiza, M.S., P.T. on Plaintiff’s
otolithic dysfunction, motion provoked dizziness and imbalance; Bob Whitehouse,
Ed.D. on his biofeedback therapies.
Defendants’ Expert Witnesses: Peter
Quintero, M.D., a neurologist; Gary Gutterman, M.D., a psychiatrist; Peter Weingarten,
M.D., an orthopedist; Jon Landerville/Christopher Kelley from Vector Scientific;
Bonnie Ruth, for vocational rehabilitation.
Settlement: Plaintiff settled this matter
for a confidential sum.