Woman's Pelvic Floor Injury from Crash

The plaintiff was a 43-year-old woman, who was a front-seat belted passenger on her way to vacation (Busch Gardens) when the vehicle she was riding in was struck from behind two times by a large dump truck on I-95 South in Prince William County.

As a result of the crash, the plaintiff had neck, back and abdominal/pelvic pain. The neck and back pain resolved after a five-week course of physical therapy. The abdominal/pelvic pain did not. The pain caused a constant feeling of bladder pressure and urgency, making her bladder feel as if it was totally full and she was “holding it” while having a 10-pound weight on top of her bladder. The plaintiff was initially treated by her family practice doctor, who ordered radiology imaging, urine testing and prescribed medications for painful bladder conditions. About four months after the crash, she was referred to a urologist, who did an invasive bladder distention procedure and diagnosed a bladder condition called interstitial cystitis.

Eleven months after the crash, the plaintiff was referred to a urogynecologist for a second opinion, who finally made a diagnosis of severe traumatic pelvic floor injury, caused by the crash. The defendant admitted liability for the crash, but contested that the injuries were permanent. Plaintiff asked the jury to return a verdict of $1,200,000. Defense counsel argued that a more appropriate verdict was $75,000. Twenty-three minutes after retiring, the jury returned a verdict of $2,000,000, with interest from the date of the crash.