This case involves a woman who was involved in a motor vehicle accident. The individual was traveling on a local back road when she lost control of her vehicle and crashed into another vehicle traveling the opposite direction. The Plaintiff claimed that the crash resulted in serious deceleration damage to her cardiovascular system. After examination, it was noted that the plaintiff had sustained a sternal fracture. The Plaintiff also claimed a number of other injuries, including cardiac contusion, myocardial trauma, deflated right ventricle, and reduction of the right ventricle fraction, along with a host of other alleged complications. The Plaintiff has claimed that her life expectancy has been shortened as a direct result of the injuries she suffered in the accident.
Question(s) For Expert Witness
1. Is it likely that the injuries claimed by the Plaintiff were caused by the accident?
Expert Witness Response E-007032
The usual complications after blunt sternal trauma to the chest usually involve aortic rupture or cardiac tamponade and in rare cases rupture of the interventricular cardiac septum. All these have catastrophic lethal consequence which usually present at the time of the accident. What she is describing in his claims are the results of a nuclear stress test and an echocardiogram for someone who has coronary artery disease - which is completely unrelated to the plaintiff's accident. It appears as though she likely has an old inferior MI or ischemia in the right coronary territory that results in her abnormal test results. This is a result of the process of atherosclerosis , exacerbated by her lifestyle choices rather than a result of her accident. The most dire consequences of blunt chest trauma would have happened at the scene of the accident. If the plaintiff has survived the accident, her cardiovascular life expectancy has likely not changed because of the accident. It is rather her underlying established coronary artery disease and ejection fraction and will determine her prognosis.
About the author
Joseph O'Neill
Joe has extensive experience in online journalism and technical writing across a range of legal topics, including personal injury, meidcal malpractice, mass torts, consumer litigation, commercial litigation, and more. Joe spent close to six years working at Expert Institute, finishing up his role here as Director of Marketing. He has considerable knowledge across an array of legal topics pertaining to expert witnesses. Currently, Joe servces as Owner and Demand Generation Consultant at LightSail Consulting.
