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$280,000 Settlement - Negligence of Garage - Failure To Latch Hood

A woman brought her employer's van to a car dealer for an oil change. When the job was completed, she drove off, believing that the vehicle was safe. However, while driving on the Interstate, just a few miles from the dealer, the hood pooped open and crashed into the windshield. Even though her vision was nearly totally obscured, she managed to drive the van into the breakdown lane without hitting another vehicle. In responding to the encroaching windshield she braced her arm and foot so forcefully that she was injured. Attorneys Kara Crismale and Dale Faulkner, on behalf of the woman, established that the hood was not properly latched by the dealer's technician at the end of the oil change. Medical testimony confirmed that she injured her arm, requiring ulnar nerve surgery, and that she also injured her back and neck. The defendant made a settlement offer before trial of $280,000.