Facts

Ryan Ritterson was riding his motorcycle when he crashed into the rear of a minivan that had made a left turn directly in front of him. Ritterson struck his groin on the handlebars of his motorcycle, causing his left testicle to rupture.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS:
Plaintiff claimed that defendant had failed to engage his left turn signal. He cited the Traffic Collision Report and introduced independent witness testimony to support his claim. The witness further testified that plaintiff was going at, or below the 25 mile per hour speed limit, but lacked warning to avoid hitting the minivan. Plaintiff's accident reconstruction expert also opined that there was no evidence that plaintiff was driving in excess of the speed limit. Plaintiff claimed that defendant's negligence inflicted "life-altering pain, disfigurement and embarrassment" upon "the most intimate and personal part of his body." His urology expert testified that plaintiff would probably experience discomfort after sexual intercourse for the rest of his life.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS:
Defendant claimed plaintiff was speeding, and was an inexperienced motorcycle rider and thus was also at fault. Defendant's urology expert opined that plaintiff's discomfort after intercourse would resolve itself within two years.

Specials in Evidence

Plaintiff incurred $40,000 in medical bills. Defendant claimed only $6,217.35 was collectable under Hanif.

Damages

Plaintiff experienced pain, and difficulty walking, standing or sitting for one month after the accident, and took Vicodin for three weeks after the accident. He also claimed mental and emotional distress, embarrassment and scrotal disfigurement. Also, plaintiff's left testicle can no longer ejaculate sperm, but his right testicle was unharmed and still functions normally. Plaintiff's fertility and hormone levels were not affected by his injuries from the collision.

Injuries

Ultrasounds revealed a large peri testicular hematoma and a testicular contusion. Doctors removed two-thirds of plaintiff's left testicle.

Result

The parties settled prior to trial for $625,000.