A Chimacum woman is seeking more than $430,000 for injuries she allegedly suffered after an automobile crash with a Jefferson County sheriff’s patrol vehicle in April 2019.

Jessica J. Morris, 32, filed a lawsuit against Jefferson County, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, and former Sheriff Deputy Trevor Hansen in August 2020.

“From a liability standpoint, it’s open and shut,” said Joe Schodowski, Morris’ attorney.

Hansen was driving his patrol vehicle, a 2011 Ford Crown Victoria, at the time of the crash just south of Port Townsend.

By using data available from Hansen’s vehicle, Schodowski calculated that the three-car pileup was one of high velocity and capable of causing Morris’ injuries.

“We’re not entirely sure why he didn’t apply the brakes,” Schodowski said of Hansen and the crash. “He made no attempt to brake, he wasn’t paying attention.”

“There’s only one conclusion: That Deputy Hansen was liable,” the attorney said.

Morris was stopped at a red light at the intersection of Highway 20 and Mill Road when she was rear-ended.

Hansen was driving at a high rate of speed and smashed into the back of Morris’ car, causing her vehicle to be lifted off the ground momentarily and sending it into the car in front of her, according to Schodowski.

The Washington State Patrol cited Hansen for following Morris’ car too closely. Hansen no longer works for the county and is currently an officer with the Port Townsend Police Department.

The incident occurred at 8:04 a.m. April 5, 2019, according to the police traffic report.

Hansen was traveling east when he struck Morris’ 2004 Acura MDX, pushing it a 2003 Subaru Forester.

Attorneys for the county dispute the allegations made in the civil lawsuit.

Mark J. Dynan and Samuel ben Behar, of the Tacoma-based law firm of Dynan & Associates, deny that the county and Hansen are fully liable for all damages that resulted from the crash.

The county’s legal counsel for the lawsuit did not respond to a request for comment by The Leader.

the CONSEQUENCES

The Washington State Patrol report listed Morris’ injuries as a “possible back injury.”

Morris went to the emergency room at Jefferson Healthcare Medical Center in Port Townsend for medical care less than two hours after the crash.

She was examined at the hospital and was determined to have upper and lower back pain, and prescribed muscle relaxants, according to the lawsuit, and was told to follow up with her primary care provider.

Her primary care provider referred Morris to physical therapy to address her back, hip, shoulder, and spine pain.

She claimed in the lawsuit that her suffering worsened over the following weeks.

Morris complained of an “electrical feeling [of] pain radiating from her neck into her head, causing her to feel dizzy and near syncopal,” and she ended up at the hospital again after fainting at a movie theater in May 2019, according to Schodowski.

Morris was unable to work for 55 weeks — from April 2019 to May 2020 — and accrued more than $40,000 in medical expenses while trying to diagnose and treat her afflictions, according to Schodowski.

Prior to the incident, Morris was in good health and was a certified nursing assistant at a local long-term healthcare facility. She still suffers from flare-ups of pain and headaches, according to her attorney, but is currently able to mostly function without pain and enjoy her hobbies of line dancing and hiking.

LAWSUIT IN PROGRESS

Jefferson County offered Morris $8,500 for her injuries from the crash.

It wasn’t enough. She decided to file suit in August 2020, seeking $434,322 from the county, Hansen, and the sheriff’s office. Morris is pursuing $134,322 for medical expenses, future medical expenses, past wage loss, future wage loss, and additional expenses. For general damages, Morris wants $300,000 for emotional distress, pain and suffering, and loss of consortium.

The county’s attorneys, in a response to the lawsuit, said Morris may have caused or contributed to her own damages, failed to lessen her damages, and some or all of her injuries may not be related to the incident, according to court documents.

Schodowski predicted the biggest contention in the lawsuit will revolve around whether Morris’ injuries and suffering can be directly attributed to the crash, and the seriousness of her physical and mental trauma.

“Liability is not the issue; it’s going to come down to damages,” Schodowski said. “She was clearly injured.”

Morris lost her job as a nursing assistant due to her prolonged absence from work, her attorney said.

“The bottom line is our client lost her job because of these injuries,” Schodowski said. “The county doesn’t believe that she should have gone to 150 appointments. People don’t go to the doctor if they don’t have to.”

Currently, the lawsuit is in the discussion and deposition process. Morris was deposed in October.

“We’re working on scheduling the second part of the deposition,” Schodowski told The Leader.

“It’s unfortunate. We didn’t want to have to file a lawsuit, but with a $8,500 offer [from the county’s risk pool] we had no choice,” he said.

The case may take time to advance, considering that COVID has forced the court to prioritize more pressing cases, with civil lawsuits pushed to the back.

“If this case ends up in a trial, it’s going to come down to a battle of the experts,” Schodowski said.