$2,450,000 settlement for woman whose car was hit by ambulance

A woman stopped her car in a double-parked position to allow an ambulance with lights and sirens on its way to an emergency to pass her. As the ambulance was driving around her vehicle, the front right corner of the ambulance hit the left rear corner of the woman’s car. The front of the ambulance had a small amount of damage and the back of the woman’s car had no damage from the contact. Because the ambulance was on its way to an emergency, to hold the ambulance responsible for the accident one would normally have to show the ambulance driver was not merely negligent, but almost intended to cause harm to the occupant of the vehicle which is a very difficult standard to comply with. The ambulance driver admitted to us when she testified at a deposition that she hit the car in the rear because she was following too closely and at too great a speed to be able to stop in time and that the accident did not occur because she was driving to an emergency. As a result, the Court ruled that the ambulance driver was responsible for the accident. The ambulance appealed that decision and the higher Appellate Court agreed with us that the ambulance was 100% responsible for the accident. The woman had injured her neck and shoulder and underwent surgical procedures to correct these conditions. We settled the case just before trial for $2,450,000.