The intersection of Hendricks Avenue and San Marco Boulevard can be a bit tricky, even if you’ve lived in Jacksonville your entire life. Mr. Brown* was traveling south on Hendricks Avenue where it meets oncoming traffic from the San Marco Square in front of the Presbyterian Church. His vehicle was struck by a driver trying to make a U-turn coming off San Marco Boulevard to go back towards the Square. Despite many signs and roadway guides directing drivers coming out of the Square safely onto Hendricks, the other driver ignored them and struck Mr. Brown’s vehicle with a tremendous amount of force.
In the end, this crash would leave our client with injuries to his spine that will likely last a lifetime, and stripped him of the ability to do so many activities he loved. We’ll look at the details of the case and how Coker Law helped our client get a successful outcome in a complex traffic accident case.
Other Driver Ignored Traffic Design Indications
San Marco is a fun spot to visit in Jacksonville, and it attracts a lot of traffic. The Square has multiple roundabouts, and a traffic pattern that was designed to be pedestrian-friendly. Leaving the Square to go southbound onto Hendricks Avenue, vehicles see a median with a “No U-turn” sign, another sign indicating the correct flow of traffic, a supplemental traffic signal with two turn arrows, and finally, a green light with a directional arrow. That totals six different indications for what drivers should do to safely enter Hendricks Avenue. The defendant who struck our client’s vehicle clearly went against this intended flow by making an illegal U-turn.
When the experienced car accident trial attorneys at Coker Law look at a case involving a roadway design that’s somewhat complex, we examine all areas of the law. Did the driver violate the right of way or fail to yield right of way? Was the intersection unsafe from a design standpoint? What were the conditions at the time of the crash? Is the intersection well lit? By understanding what led to the crash, we can recreate the accident and tell the story of why our client deserves compensation for a crash they didn’t cause.
Hurt, Scared and Confused: How Victims Face Uncertainty After an Accident
Members of the Coker Law legal team that handled this case spent years working in insurance defense, with many wins on complex cases. That experience would prove invaluable as the team worked on this accident case, they knew the defense playbook, as well as how to strategize a case against it.
Like most clients, Mr. Brown* had never been in a serious wreck before and had several questions about the process and COVID delays. He had never been injured previously and going through multiple surgeries and realizing he couldn’t physically do the things he did prior was hard on him. His legal team was able to walk him through the process.
In preparing for the case, the legal team at Coker Law brought in medical experts to help explain the severity of the injuries. All of the experts agreed that the crash caused our client serious injuries that may present a lifetime of pain. The other driver was also working for a rideshare service at the time, further complicating who was responsible for compensating our client. In the end, our team worked through every complexity to secure a settlement that would highly compensate our client.
Case Title: Brown* v. Doe* and Smith*
Date of Settlement: 2/4/2022
Amount of Settlement: Confidential
*All names have been changed to protect privacy.
