In the early evening of December 23, 2014, a 20-year-old woman driving an SUV struck a 16-year-old boy crossing Fuller Avenue NE at Sweet Street in a marked, well-lit crosswalk. According to court documents, the driver never noticed the boy before the left-front bumper hit and launched him 85 feet into the oncoming lane. The teenage pedestrian, Jacob Rodgers, lived in the neighborhood and was walking home from a friend’s house, and used the crosswalk at least twice a day traveling to and from school.
Sadly, Jacob sustained a traumatic disabling brain injury in the crash leaving him in a coma for months. Today, he continues intensive recovery as an impatient at Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital in Grand Rapids.
The team at Buchanan & Buchanan, PLC dedicated eight months to intense investigation, gathering key evidence, and reconstructing the collision with the best experts in the United States. In the end Buchanan & Buchanan was able to show the driver’s insurance company proof the driver was at fault for the accident. Evidence the law firm found and pieced together revealed the SUV driver should have seen Jacob and had plenty of time to stop before hitting him in the crosswalk. Robert J. Buchanan persuaded the driver’s insurer to pay $1.25 million, the limits of her two insurance policies, to settle the matter out of the courthouse. The money will provide care, equipment, and resources Jacob needs.
“We are glad to obtain for Jacob valuable resources and funds he will need to achieve an excellent recovery. He is a hardworking boy with a strong spirit and incredible drive.”
About Buchanan & Buchanan, PLC
Buchanan & Buchanan is a personal injury law firm that represents people, not insurance companies. We have a well-earned reputation for providing exceptional and high quality representation to innocent people catastrophically injured by wrongdoers. We know both injury law and medicine. Unlike other law firms, we employ experienced medical professionals as members of our team. They work closely with our clients and attorneys, from the initial interview through settlement or trial, overseeing medical issues, advising on strategy, and selecting top-notch medical experts that are critical to an excellent outcome.
Buchanan & Buchanan, PLC is a member of the International Society of Primerus Law Firms.