Plaintiff, (F-42), was driving a Ford E-150 van, headed east on Black Road at or near its intersection with Frontage Road in Joliet when Defendant, who was headed west on Black Road, failed to yield the right of way to Plaintiff and turned left in front of her. After impact, Plaintiff’s van flipped and rolled over several times in an end to end fashion. While Plaintiff was using her seatbelt at the time of this accident and her air bag did deploy, her van windows were down, and her left arm/elbow became pinned under the van at some point during the rollover process causing extensive injuries.
Surgery was performed the same day and consisted of irrigation and debridement of the open wounds, repair of muscle lacerations, application of external fixator, repair of open wounds, closed reduction and percutaneous pinning of the left middle finger. A second and third procedure were necessitated by the non-union of the bone. It became necessary for Plaintiff to use a bone stimulator which must be worn for ten hours a day. She has attended over 121 physical therapy sessions in addition to regular doctor visits. Plaintiff’s treating physician has opined that Plaintiff has developed post-traumatic carpal tunnel syndrome which is directly related to the initial injury. While the condition is tolerable at this time, it will worsen and, ultimately, will require carpal tunnel release at a cost of approximately $12,000.00, including six weeks of physical therapy. Plaintiff has permanent loss of rotation of her forearm and flexion and extension of her wrist, as well as decreased flexion and extension of her index finger. Plaintiff’s physician opined that she has a 25% loss of use of her upper left extremity resulting in permanent pain, disability and weakness.