A 45-year-old woman who suffered severe brain injuries after a car accident with a police car in south Los Angeles has been awarded a settlement of $6.9 million in damages by a jury.

Sandra Griffin, a single mother of two, was parked in her car on Imperial Highway in south LA in 2006. A police car that had no sirens or lights turned on swerved to avoid another vehicle, and broadsided Griffin’s car. The car accident left Griffin with severe injures to her brain, besides damaging her hip, skull, lungs and spleen. She spent months in hospital undergoing painful surgeries, and more weeks of rehabilitation therapy, before she was finally allowed to go home.

The Sandra Griffin who arrived at home was a markedly different one from the active woman who looked after her two daughters single handedly, besides caring for her elderly parents. Her brain injuries had resulted in amnesia, and she couldn’t remember a number of things about her family. She was prone to frequent hallucinations, and panic stricken outbursts in which she claimed she was talking to God. The car accident left this woman a shell of her former self, with two kids and her parents still dependant on her.

Since the car accident, Sandra has turned from caregiver to victim herself. She used to drive her kids to school, attend church services regularly and drive her parents to the doctor when they got sick. These days, she spends most of her time in bed, and has to have someone constantly looking over her. The unfairness of it all is heartbreaking, and the jury probably agreed.

The city on its part tried hard to prove that there was no liability for the accident caused by a police car. The trial jurors were shown a video tape captured by an undercover investigator to prove that Sandra’s injuries weren’t all that bad. In the footage, she is seen walking across the street and talking to a neighbor. Obviously, the jury didn’t agree that there was anything sneaky or suspicious about Sandra Griffin’s injuries. To believe that Sandra faked the extent of her injuries, you would have to believe that she pretended for two years, as her sister says, and no sane person in his or her right mind pretends to be have brain injuries, hallucinations and remains bed ridden, just to win compensation. As of now, the city is mulling over whether to appeal, or ask for a new trial.

While the extent of Sandra’s brain injuries may never be fully corrected by medical care, at least her family now has the means to provide more permanent care for her and her kids and parents.

The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of brain injuries. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.