A man who was severely injured when two personal watercrafts collided on the Intracoastal Waterway has confidentially settled a lawsuit against the operator of a watercraft rental company and the at-fault pilot for $1.538 million, his attorneys report.
Clawson
Samuel Clawson Jr. and Christy Fargnoli of Clawson Fargnoli in Charleston report that their client, whose name was withheld pursuant to a confidentiality agreement, was a part of a group of five people who rented Yamaha watercrafts in June 2017.
After a safety orientation, a guide took the group out on the water and told them to stay within the boundaries of the riding area at each end and stay on the right side of the canal. The group rode in formation counterclockwise, until the other pilot tried to pass them on the left as they approached the boundary. The client turned toward the left and t-boned the other pilot.
The client suffered blunt force trauma across the left side of his body and was rushed to the hospital, where he was diagnosed with left side rib fractures, a collapsed lung, abrasions, contusions, lacerations, and acute pain due to trauma, Clawson said.
He remained hospitalized for three days. After returning home, he underwent extensive and lengthy follow-up treatment for a torn ligament in his left hand, a left leg fracture, a spinal injury that resulted in two surgeries, and Peyronie’s disease, a condition which causes painful, long-lasting erections, Clawson said.
“He has made a good recovery overall and his life has returned to normal in many respects, although there will always be some lingering issues with his various injuries from this accident,” Clawson said.
Fargnoli
Past medical expenses were $188,000. The attorneys retained three experts to provide opinions on future medical expenses, economic loss, and liability. Lindsay Moore, a life care planner, said that the future medical expenses would be $169,000. Economist Roy Strickland said that the economic loss due to the impact of the injuries on the plaintiff’s business was $177,000. Joseph Ahlstrom, an expert in maritime safety, said that the at-fault operator had the Inland Rules of the Road.
The rental company settled for $38,000. The client demanded a settlement with the at-fault pilot, and, after much back-and-forth, his insurance company agreed to settle the case for $1.5 million after mediation. Karl Folkens of Florence mediated the settlement, which was agreed to on April 17.
Admiralty jurisdiction and general maritime law presented advantages in settling the case, Clawson said. Cases are tried without a jury before a federal judge, and joint and several liability and pure comparative negligence apply. Also, under a rule of maritime law known as the Pennsylvania Rule, if a ship is in some violation of a navigation statute at the time of a collision, its operator is presumed to be at fault, and the burden of proof shifts to the defendant, who must show that the statutory violation not only didn’t cause the injury, but couldn’t even have contributed to the injury.
“We were able to leverage this legal construct to our client’s advantage,” Clawson said.
Peter Hearn of Hearn & Hearn in Conway also represented the plaintiff. Due to a confidentiality agreement, other details about the settlement, including the identities of the plaintiffs and their attorneys, were not available.
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SETTLEMENT REPORT — MARITIME WRECK
Amount: $1.538 million
Injuries alleged: Blunt force trauma causing lacerations, rib and fractures, collapsed lung, and Peyronie’s disease
Case name: Withheld
Court: Withheld
Mediator: Karl Folkens of Florence
Date of settlement: April 17
Most helpful experts: Lindsay Moore of Mount Pleasant (life care planning), Roy Strickland of Dixon Hughes Goodman in Charleston (economist), and Joseph Ahlstrom of State University of New York in Throgs Neck, New York (maritime safety)
Attorneys for plaintiff: Samuel Clawson Jr. and Christy Fargnoli of Clawson Fargnoli in Charleston and Peter Hearn Sr. of Hearn & Hearn in Conway
Attorneys for defendants: Withheld