A student left with profound permanent brain injuries after being struck by a car will receive a $1.85 million settlement, including half a million from the county and school district.
According to Daniel Draisen of The Injury Law Firm, the minor plaintiff, identified as V.T. was left bedridden and dependent on a feeding tube unable to walk or communicate after the September 2020 accident in which she was hit by a fellow student operating a vehicle. The driver’s insurance contributed $1.3 million with another $50,000 coming from V.T.’s UIM coverage. The remainder was from Anderson County and the Anderson County School District Five.
“People have been complaining for years that students fly up and down that road cutting through from other parts of the county to get to school and for kids walking there was no sidewalk, no shoulder,” Draisen said. “It is just a road and then grass.”
Draisen said the incident took place in a subdivision about 100 yards from the school where recent residential construction has increased foot traffic along the country road, which had briars on the other side that prevented individuals from walking while facing traffic.
Despite complaints from the public, Draisen said the district and the county had been in dispute over the details of who would pay to install a sidewalk in the area. Since the accident, an asphalt path has been put in place.
He said that, in the event of a tragedy such as this, it can be useful for attorneys to explore creative avenues to get a fair recovery for the incident.
“Unfortunately, we a lot of times are stuck with just the automobile coverage but it is always worth checking to see if there are other potentially culpable parties,” he noted.
Draisen listed Allison Hanna of Halligan Mahoney Williams as representing the district and Steven Pruitt of McDonald Patrick as representing the county. The former declined comment and the latter did not return a request for comment.
Draisen said there was no attorney for the at-fault driver.
SETTLEMENT REPORT – MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENT
Amount: $1.85 million
Injuries alleged: Profound permanent brain injury, loss of ability to walk, communicate or perform ADL, bedridden, dependence on a feeding tube, seizures
Case name: To Anh Tran, conservator for V.T., a minor, v. Anderson County; Anderson County School District Five
Court: Anderson County Circuit Court
Case No.: 2021-CP-04-00412
Judge: J. Cordell Maddox, Jr.
Date of settlement: Dec. 2, 2021
Attorney for plaintiff: Daniel Draisen of The Injury Law Firm in Anderson
Attorneys for defendant: Allison Hanna of Halligan Mahoney & Williams in Columbia (for the district); Steven Pruitt of McDonald Patrick in Greenwood (for the county)
The post County, school district to pay part of $1.85M settlement 
first appeared on South Carolina Lawyers Weekly.