Audi SUV Strikes Visiting Pedestrian on Charleston Sidewalk; Permanent Brain Damage Settles for $3.5 Million

On a Friday morning in 2017, a husband and wife from St. Louis were walking along a sidewalk near a South Carolina shopping center. The driver of an Audi SUV initially reversed to let them pass, then suddenly accelerated forward and struck the husband. The vehicle came to rest on his leg before he could get clear.

First responders rushed him to the hospital. He had sustained multiple skull fractures and damage to his ear canal. Doctors confirmed cerebral hemorrhages and a midline shift of the brain caused by intracranial pressure, and he remained hospitalized for six days before he was stable enough to travel home. An MRI taken in April 2018 revealed bilateral encephalomalacia in both hemispheres, a condition in which brain tissue dies and liquefies permanently. His ability to work, maintain relationships, and function day-to-day was significantly diminished. His wife also sustained a torn MCL in the collision.

The case was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina. Surveillance footage from a nearby business captured the moment of impact, and multiple 911 calls from witnesses established that the defendant failed to yield the right of way to the pedestrians. The plaintiffs engaged experts in neurosurgery, neuropsychology, accident reconstruction, and orthopedics. A federal judge struck the defense's human factors expert entirely and sharply curtailed the opposing accident reconstruction testimony before trial. A scheduled March 2020 trial date was postponed.

At mediation, the defense opened at $1 million, with signals that $2 million represented a potential ceiling. The plaintiffs' team pressed further. The mediator proposed a double-blind offer: each side would independently commit to a figure it could accept, and if both numbers matched, the case would settle on the spot. Both sides independently agreed on $3.5 million. The settlement was finalized in July 2020, with the defendant's identity kept confidential under the agreement's terms.

Mark Bringardner of Joye Law Firm in Charleston co-led the representation alongside Kenneth E. Berger and Brad Lanford of the Law Office of Kenneth Berger in Columbia, and Chris Finney of Finney Injury Law in the St. Louis area. Documented special damages totaled $148,601.20.