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Marathoner's Fractured Leg Leads to
$490,000 Settlement.
Armando Brionez lived to run. An Elite Master's runner,
Armando trained 5 to 20 miles a day, 6 days a week, 11
months a year, averaging 75 miles a week. He ran the Boston
Marathon in 3:03. His team, Club Northwest, won the National
Master's 8 Kilometer Race. He was the 1996 Canadian/American
Masters' Cross-Country Champion. He finished third at the
Stanford Masters' Championships. He was the defending
champion of the Nookchamps Half Marathon and finished 12th
in the Las Vegas Masters' Half Marathon. He handled the
running leg for the team which won Oregon's Pole-Paddle
Relay four times against Olympic-level competition. He was
the defending Northwest Cross-Country Champion for his age
group.
On August 13, 1997, Armando Brionez began a three-week
vacation from his job as a millwright at the Intalco
aluminum plant, where he had worked for 27 years. He planned
to camp in the San Juan Islands, running each morning,
kayaking in the midday, and then running again in the
afternoon, in preparation for the upcoming racing season. He
drove to the Anacortes Ferry Terminal, arriving at
approximately 11:00 a.m. in his 1969 Bronco loaded with
camping gear, with his kayak strapped on top. Since there
was a two-hour wait for the 2:00 p.m. ferry, Armando changed
into running clothes (red shorts, a red bandana, and
sunglasses) and began a five-mile run to Anacortes and back
along a marked biking/jogging trail adjoining the main road.
It was 80°, sunny and clear. The two-lane road was straight
and wide.
Todd Zentner, a 17-year-old employee of Statewide, Inc.
apparently fell asleep at the wheel (at 12:30 in the
afternoon!) and drove the right front wheel off the vehicle
lane, over the biking/jogging lane, and into the gravel
shoulder. He couldn't regain control of the Dodge B-250 van
at the posted 35 mph speed limit.
Armando heard tires squealing. He tried to jump behind a
telephone pole but was struck from behind. He curled into a
ball as he flew through the air "...as if he had been
drop-kicked through a field goal." Everything went black. He
saw a yellow light and thought, "I'm not ready!" When he
opened his eyes, he was lying on his left side with bones
sticking out of his left leg.
Armando was hit so hard that his body, probably his head,
dented the front right hood of the big Dodge.
Several witnesses observed the collision.
Karleen Leighton described the Dodge van as ". . . driving
erratically, swerving slightly from the vehicle lane to the
bicycle lane, then to the gravel of the road shoulder. The
van was kicking up a large amount of dust and gravel. . . "
Terry Hammond said, "I saw a man running westbound, well off
the paved roadway, but directly in the path of this oncoming
van. . . I was horrified to see the runner fly through the
air, 15-20 feet, as if he'd been drop kicked through a field
goal."
Armando was stabilized, given morphine for pain, and rushed
to Island Hospital in Anacortes.
Armando's injuries were divided roughly into two categories:
(1) orthopedic injuries including left Grade I comminuted
segmental open distal tibia/fibula fractures, associated
ligamentous stretching and tearing injuries to the left leg,
ankle and foot, and traumatic strain to the back
musculature, and (2) post concussive head injuries including
situational depression, memory dysfunction, olfactory
disturbance, headaches and post traumatic stress symptoms.
The orthopedic care was taken over by Dr. Richard C.
Williamson who was on call at Island Hospital on August 13,
1997. Dr. Williamson diagnosed a "Grade I comminuted
segmental open distal tib/fib fracture". A comminuted
fracture is a fracture where the bone is splintered or
crushed. A segmental fracture is one in which the bone is
broken into individual parts or segments. An open fracture
is one where the bones have broken through the skin and are
fully exposed. Distal means the fracture was on the portion
of the tibia and fibula, the two bones of the lower leg,
farthest away from the center of the body, that is, closer
to the ankle. In sum, the two bones of Armando's lower left
leg were crushed and splintered into multiple parts, some of
which were sticking out through his skin.
The post concussive head injury was evaluated, documented
and treated by Ted Judd Ph.D., a board-certified
neuropsychologist in Bellingham.
Armando's courage and attitude, born of long-distance
running, served him well in his uphill recovery, and also so
impressed the insurance representatives that they had little
question about the reality of the impact of the orthopedic
and concussive injuries. An early meeting was arranged where
an adjuster took Armando's statement in a large conference
room. The conference room table was crowded with running
trophies and awards.
Although Armando was initially unable to return to
competitive running, during the period of his recuperation
he served as President of the Greater Bellingham Running
Club as a way to stay involved in running, to practice his
organizational skills and to avoid depression caused by
withdrawal from his core activity.
Armando also volunteered to coach a group of novice runners
who ran in the San Diego Marathon and the Hawaii Marathon as
a way to raise money for the Leukemia Society of America. An
article and photograph in the Bellingham Herald
depicted Armando with his team members.
To long-time marathoner Armando Brionez, running was
a piece of cake. However, fund-raising was another
matter.
Still, the 48-year-old President of the Bellingham
Running Club was inspired by a good cause - raising
money for the Leukemia Society of America through San
Diego's Rock 'N Roll Marathon this Sunday.
It's very touching because. . . "you think you have
problems and then you run into patients, and it's like
your life is a cakewalk compared to theirs," Brionez
says.
Last year he coached a "Team in Training (TNT)," a team
that trained and raised funds from January to June. The
participants all completed the 26.2 mile race. Brionez
hoped to run in the annual winter fund-raising event,
the Honolulu Marathon, until a mishap occurred.
"I was scheduled to do the Honolulu Marathon last
December, but then I got hit by a van," Brionez laughs,
but later his expression turns serious as he describes
recovering from a concussion and severely fractured leg.
"It's been a tough ten months."
Still, he returned in January to coach this year's TNT.
"I showed up at the meeting on crutches, and they're
looking at this guy on crutches thinking, 'He's going to
get me through a marathon?' Brionez recalls.
Ultimately, character and grit allowed Armando to resume
his marathon career, although he will probably never again
compete at the top of the Masters level.
The case was resolved by a structured settlement with a
present cash value of over $490,000. Armando Brionez was
represented by WSTLA Eagle Member Dean Brett of Bellingham's
Brett & CoatsPLLC. |
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