Sommers Schwartz attorney Michael Cunningham negotiated a confidential personal injury settlement in an underinsured motorist claim related to a tragic multi-vehicle crash on I-75 near Square Lake Road in Oakland County, Michigan. The plaintiff was struck by an out-of-control auto while assisting a motorist in an accident. 

The plaintiff was one of two “Good Samaritans” who stopped to help a driver whose vehicle had rolled over in the left median or breakdown lane of I-75 southbound during a violent rainstorm in spring 2021. As the volunteers tried to free the trapped driver, an approaching van lost control, hydroplaned, and smashed into the overturned vehicle. The driver of the original car and the other man were killed; the plaintiff was thrown against and pinned to the concrete barrier, crushing his legs. The van driver was uninjured.  

The plaintiff suffered a severe crushing injury to both legs, requiring surgery and four screws to stabilize the femur in his right leg. His skin and a significant amount of the cartilage and muscle tissue in his lower right leg were completely stripped away. This gruesome injury required extensive surgery and 54 staples to remediate. 

Despite treatment and eight months of intense physical therapy, the plaintiff continues to suffer numbness in both legs and is extremely unstable in his right lower leg. His gait instability causes radiating pain, weakness, and difficulty standing. He has extensive scarring and continues to need physical therapy.

In addition to his devastating physical injuries, the plaintiff sustained severe psychological trauma. He has intense PTSD, survivor’s guilt, anxiety, panic attacks, and depression; he has trouble sleeping and recurring nightmares of the horrific event.