Maria Kelly/Fuller v. Fox
NAVY SEAL DISCHARGED BECAUSE OF CAR CRASH INJURY
Decorated U.S. Navy SEAL Jonathan Fuller hired solo practitioner Maria Kelly due to his ongoing head and neck pain after a rear-end crash. Two years before the crash, Jon returned from Mosul, where he was exposed to hundreds of mortar blasts, including a rocket-propelled grenade, while serving as a special operations warfare fighter. Jon had suffered dozens of concussions in service but always bounced back to defend his country. He was gearing up for his next deployment when the crash happened. However, just two months after the crash, Jon’s team leader noticed he was struggling physically and mentally. He told Jon his time was up, and he had to discharge him. Not only did Jon lose his life’s work, but he also lost his identity as a Navy SEAL. The defense threw everything at Maria. They said the driver had a sudden medical emergency at the time of the collision, so there could be no recovery for Jon. Because the driver died during the litigation, Maria had to hunt down each one of his medical records and doctors to prove there was no emergency. The defense argued his injuries were military related. The defense also argued the collision had nothing to do with Jon’s discharge because Navy doctors cleared him “Fit for Full Duty.” With a team of experts and confidential testimony from several SEALs that Maria fought hard to find in between deployments, Maria successfully proved that SEAL culture demanded Jon’s exit. Maria never once asked to mediate, because she believed Jon deserved every single penny of the available insurance policy limit. After continually fighting back, the defense finally surrendered. Once the case was resolved, Jon wrote to Maria that she had the tenacity of a bulldog. Her work changed his life.