$900,000 Settlement for Man Who Suffered a Herniated Disc
Robert Barren Jr. V Southeastern Exterminating, Inc. Et Al. (Mobile County, Alabama Circuit Court | CASE NO. 02-CV-2016-902023.00)
It has been said that the attorneys of Cunningham Bounds law firm leave no stone unturned when preparing a case for trial. In the case of Barren vs. Southeastern Exterminating, Inc. this trait was clearly demonstrated and resulted in a substantial settlement for the firm’s client.
Our client, Mr. Barren was traveling eastbound on Airport Boulevard in Mobile, Alabama. He, and the driver behind him, appropriately stopped at a red light. A third vehicle – owned by Southeastern Exterminating, Inc. (Southeastern) and operated by its employee – then slammed into the rear of the vehicle behind Mr. Barren. The impact pushed that vehicle into the back of Mr. Barren’s vehicle. The drivers of both stopped vehicles were injured, with our client suffering a herniated disc. The at fault driver had suffered a hypoglycemic event due to insulin and diabetes that caused him to lose consciousness while he was driving down Airport Boulevard.
As the facts of the case were being discovered and documents were being examined, a serious discovery was made. Documents produced by Defendant Southeastern during discovery appeared to indicate their driver had been cleared by a physician to operate a vehicle on all-day routes following at least one hypoglycemic event that he suffered while on the job just three months before the wreck involving Mr. Barren. Hypoglycemia is dangerously low blood sugar that results in disorientation, confusion and even loss of consciousness. A meticulous examination of the medical records of Southeastern’s driver revealed an alarming trend of numerous and serious episodes of hypoglycemia that required medical intervention during his entire employment with Southeastern. Shockingly, Southeastern’s driver had been treated for one such event just hours before the wreck involving Mr. Barren, where he had lost consciousness due to hypoglycemia. Furthermore, it was later revealed that Southeastern’s driver was never appropriately cleared by a physician to operate one of their vehicles on solo all-day routes.
Even though Southeastern was aware of its driver’s failure to manage his diabetes, the company continued to employ him without adequately monitoring and supervising him, and they allowed him to operate company vehicles on public streets.
Due to this detailed examination of the records by the attorneys and staff involved in this case, our client received a $900,000 settlement from Southeastern. The case was handled by attorney Skip Finkbohner and senior paralegal Amy Bolt. The settlement was obtained in March, 2018.
