Trial lawyers specializing in personal injury and civil litigation
Serious impairment claim dismissed
Jennifer Lynn Ancel sued Bryan Foco, David Sweebe and Bay Regional Medical Center to recover compensation for injuries she suffered in a motor vehicle collision. The Court concluded that she had proven an objective injury, as demonstrated by two bulging discs and an abnormal EMG demonstrating radiculopathy, but nervertheless dismissed her claim. It held that Ancel had not demonstrated a "life-altering" change resulting from the injuries, because her "life after the accident is not significantly different than her life before the accident...while she cannot participate in some minor recreational activities to the extent that she could before...a negative effect on a particular aspect of an injured person's life is not sufficient" to meet the tort threshold established by the "Engler Majority" when it re-interpreted the meaning of a "serious impairment of bodily function."