December 2019
Auto v. Semi-Truck: Rear Ended
Our client was involved in a horrific collision: she was severely rear-ended by a semi-truck. The shocking property damage photographs would make most people question whether our client even survived the collision. Fortunately, she walked away alive and suffered a right wrist fracture that healed with a soft brace. Her total medical expenses were $23,708.73.
The defendant’s insurance company had a $1,000,000 commercial liability policy limit. Initially the insurance company offered around $18,000 to settle days after the collision. Given their low-ball offer, our client knew she needed legal representation and hired our firm.
Their offer in response to our settlement demand was $34,866.06. After two weeks of negotiating, they increased their offer to $64,267 – claiming it was their top offer. As a result, we persuaded our client to agree to mediation and reject their proposed offer.
At mediation, they increased their offer to $67,000 and eventually $70,000. We rejected their $70,000 offer, explaining our client’s pain and suffering was significant and could not be approached in a cookie-cutter way. Our client did well explaining the impact to her daily life and the trauma she suffered because of the accident. As a result, the offer was increased to $80,000.
Although we believed her case was worth more than $80,000, our client chose to settle the case because she wanted to “put the matter behind her and move on with her life.” Ultimately, she was happy with her settlement and extremely thankful for our hard work and dedication to her case.
October 2019
Case Highlight: Six-Figure Settlement
We obtained a six figure settlement for our client who was struck by a large truck that ran a stop sign.
Notably, our client suffered a 8 mm lumbar disc herniation which caused major lower back pain. The pain still persisted after receiving two lumbar epidural steroid injections. Our client’s damages totaled $37,372.
The defendant’s insurance company made an initial offer of $38,343. After negotiation, ultimately increased their offer to $43,500. They claimed they could not increase their offer without any new information.
We rejected their offer knowing that our client’s case was worth more. We let them know if they were serious about settling the case before litigation, they needed to get authorization for a six figure settlement.
During about 45 days of constant communication regarding their settlement offer, we maintained that our client need additional treatment and that we were not interested in settling for anywhere near their offer.
Nearly three months after their initial offer, they called to ask about accepting their $43,500 offer. We maintained our client’s position was clear: litigation will result unless they present a six figure settlement offer.
Six days later, the defendant’s insurance company called to present a new offer of $87,100. We rejected. The following day, they increased their offer to $95,000. After negotiations, during the same call, their offer increased to over $100,000.00.
Our client was thankful for our firm’s hard work and ecstatic with his net recovery which was more than what the insurance company initially offered without having to file a lawsuit.
September 2019
Auto v. Auto: Two Accidents in the Same Month
Our client was involved in a hit and run accident and a rear accident in the same month. Unfortunately, our client did not have uninsured motorist coverage for the first accident. When the adjuster evaluated her car for the second accident, he learned she was involved in another accident earlier in the month. After we submitted a policy limits demand to resolve the claim, the bodily injury adjuster questioned our client’s injuries and was hoping to pin them on the first accident.
However, the negotiating attorney successfully argued that the injuries she sustained for second collision were different from the first collision. As such, we were able to secure the full policy limits for the second accident in less than a year. After our client learned about the settlement, she became very emotional as she did not expect anything from her case. She let us know that before she hired our office, she tried to handle the case on her own and was yelled at by the adjuster trying to discourage her from pursuing her case with a law firm.
Auto v. Auto: T-Boned at a Stop Sign
The defendant ran a stop sign and t-boned our client, who was driving with her 2 children. Our client sustained had a lower back injury which necessitated an injection. Her daughter had a small bruise on her head and went to the ER. After a few rounds of negotiations, we were able to resolve our client’s client for 50% more than what the insurance company initially offered without having to file a lawsuit in less than a year.
Auto v. Auto: Rear End
Our client was rear-ended on the freeway at night with her son in the backseat. Her son was not injured and our client suffered from minor muscle sprains/strains. However, the accident caused our client to suffer from a lot of anxiety. Despite the minor property damage and low medical bills, we were able to settle her claim without having to file a lawsuit for a favorable amount in less than 7 months.
Auto v. Auto: Underinsured Motorist
Our 27 year old client was broad-sided by a driver that caused her vehicle to veer off the road and collide into a park bench. Her vehicle was a total loss. She sustained both neck and back injuries. visible inflammation of her hand, and bruising of her abdomen that did not dissipate for nearly two weeks after the collision.
We exhausted the at-fault party’s limits. As such, an underinsured claim was submitted to her own insurance company. Initially, her own insurance company made an extremely low offer to resolve the claim claiming that our client was young and is going to recover daily quickly. We rejected that argument and suggested we mediate the claim. At mediation, we made all the right arguments but the insurance company still did not want to pay what we believed was reasonable. Shortly after the mediation, however, the insurance company accepted our demand and we were able to resolve the claim for more than 7 times the insurance company’s initial offer.
Bicycle v. Auto: Clavicle Fracture
This was a difficult case with a client who was riding his bike, when the defendant swung open their car door. As a result, our client flew from his bike onto the pavement, and sustained a clavicle fracture. Treatment was relatively limited with only 8 doctor’s visits, as his only non-surgical option was to wear a sling. As such, his medical bills were very low.
After getting to know our client, the negotiating attorney was able to argue to the adjuster how this injury affected client’s work in IT, especially only being able to type with one hand. Clearly, this had a huge impact on his job performance. Additionally, our client had a newborn at home, so carrying her was extremely difficult. He was also taking care of his ill father. Needless to say he was a very sympathetic client. Despite his limited treatment and low medical bills, we were able to secure the policy limits from the at-fault party’s insurance company and more money from our client’s underinsured motorist coverage. As a result of our efforts, our client netted 50% of the total settlement.
