$1.3 Million Settlement for Truck Driver injured in Turnover Crash
Description
Jefferson County man who was driving an oil truck receives a $1.3Million settlement following a turnover crash caused by another motorists negligence.
Our client was driving an oil truck through Eureka, Missouri, when another motorist negligently pulled out in front of his vehicle. Our client knew that if he didn’t act quickly, his truck would t-bone the small sedan, which would have led to potentially fatal consequences for the other driver. Instead of letting something terrible happen, and even though the situation was
entirely caused by the other driver not paying attention, our client jerked his truck to the left causing the vehicle to overturn.
The force from the impact of the vehicle jerking and then violently being flung from its tires onto its side led to severe injury to our client’s shoulder, neck, and spine. After exhausting conservative, non-surgical treatment options for his neck pain, our client ended up having to have a disc replacement surgery to remove and replace three discs in his neck.
After going through surgery and physical therapy, along with some pain management and chiropractic treatment, our client was able to make a nearly full recovery. Our team attempted to settle the case at this point, however the offer from the defense insurance company was too low so we filed a lawsuit and prepared the case for trial. As the case got close to the trial deadline the defense increased their offer from $150,000 to over $1 Million and we agreed to settle the case for $1,300,000.00. The settlement was a great result for our client and our litigation team, and further cemented our position that we never take settlements from the insurance companies unless they fairly and fully compensate our clients for the damage the at-fault party caused.
The settlement was truly life-changing for our client. He hired a money manager to help him invest his settlement and he had financial freedom to be able to stay at home full-time and care for his son who has autism.
$2.5M Slip-And-Fall at Grocery Store Least to Huge Settlement
Description
Man who got his foot stuck inside an unprotected pallet fell, sustaining severe hip fracture. Pre-trial settlement.
Our client, a man in his mid-60’s was shopping at a local grocery store in Festus, Missouri when he saw a display of watermelons in a large cardboard container. The watermelon display had been placed on top of wooden pallets. While our client was bending down into the box to grab a watermelon, his foot became lodged inside of the pallet, causing him to fall in a twisting motion when he tried to place the watermelon into his shopping cart. The forces from the fall resulted in a severe hip fracture, for which he had to undergo emergency surgery.
The liability resolution team for the grocery store initially blew our client off, so he contacted several law firms and was being told he didn’t have a case. He then called me to take a second look. I went to meet with him at his home and was careful to review photographs of the watermelon display that his wife went back to take in the days after her husband had been hurt. I noticed that the way the watermelons were sitting on the pallets was unreasonably dangerous, and that simple preventive measures, such as installing pallet guards would have prevented the fall. I took the time to find out that the hip injury had completely changed our client’s life. He had previously taken pride in being able to work helping patients at a local hospital, but that he had to leave that job because he could no longer be on his feet for more than a few steps without help from a walker. In fact, the injury was so severe that it was likely going to result not only in losing the quality of his life but also taking many years from him.
Once we got involved it became clear to me very quickly that the only way to get this grocery store chain to take our client seriously was to file a lawsuit. Once the lawsuit was underway, we were able to obtain evidence from multiple sources – documents from the company showing procedures were not properly in place, a complete lack of accountable reporting by managers of the store, and video. As the case continued along it got stronger and stronger. Ultimately, a couple of weeks before the case was set for a trial the grocery store started to try to make settlement offers. They knew they were at fault, and they knew that our client’s injuries were terrible. We made a demand for $2.5 Million and gave the defense a cutoff to accept – one week before the trial. Like clockwork, they called to let us know they were accepting the demand just hours before the offer expired.
Our client went through a lot of hardship because of the injury, and he lost things that no amount of money could give back. He was very grateful to receive such a large amount of money to settle the case.
$2M Trucking Crash Settlement
Description
Man who was hit by a dump truck settled his case with insurance company for $2Million Policy Limits
Our Client, 40 of Troy, MO was driving to work one morning when a dump truck, owned suddenly changed lanes causing a collision between the dump truck and our client’s sedan. The collision caused the smaller vehicle to spin out across multiple lanes of the highway before coming to a rest off the roadway. The driver of the dump truck, told police our client was in his blind spot, and he did not see the vehicle prior to the collision. The crash caused severe injury to our client’s neck and cervical spine. After exhausting more conservative treatments including chiropractic care, and steroid injections, he underwent a three-level disc replacement surgery in his cervical spine.
After recovering from surgery and receiving physical therapy, Our client continued to have persistent and severe neck pain. He then began treatment with a pain management specialist who performed branch block injections and radiofrequency ablations.
Despite the severity of his injuries, our client’s treatment provided significant pain relief, and major improvement to his quality of life. He is once again able to participate in activities he enjoys, continues to work full-time and has gotten married since the crash that led him to our legal team.
A pre-suit settlement demand for policy limits was originally rejected by the Defendant’s insurance company, So we filed a lawsuit to make them pay. Next the lawyer for the defense offered our client $1Million and asked if we would be willing to go to mediation to resolve the case somewhere between the $2Milliion policy limit and the $1Million offer they put on the table. We saw this as an opportunity to put pressure on the Defense so we ejected Defense’s offer of $1Million, rejected their offer to mediate and settle somewhere in the middle, and gave them one final chance to pay the full $2Million policy, or we would try to get more from a jury. The defense caved and within one week they were calling to tell us they had accepted our offer and would pay the full $2Million Policy Limit.
We felt strongly that the damages in this case warranted no less than the policy limits, and were very grateful to have a client who put their trust in us. It’s not an easy thing to say no to a $1Million+ offer and hold firm against a defendant’s insurer. At the end of this case Our client was relieved to finally have resolution to the case, and was ecstatic to get a life-changing amount of money to settle his case.
$300,000 Settlement for woman attacked by German Shepard Dog
Description
Young woman who was attacked and bit by a dog settles claim with homeowner’s insurance for $300,000 policy limits
Our client who was visiting the home of a friend after a sporting event when the friend’s German Shepard dog jumped up and bit her on the lip causing her to suffer a severe injury. She rushed herself to the hospital where a plastic surgeon rushed to her aid. The injury left our client with a scar on her face from her nose down to her lip. Fortunately there were additional treatments available to minimize the appearance of the facial scar, but it never would completely go away.
After our client was released from care we sent a demand to the insurance company for the homeowner whose dog attacked our client. Even though the dog had never been known to attack anyone before, in Missouri the law regarding dog attacks puts liability on the dogs owner. The insurance company initially wanted to offer our client an amount of money far below the policy limits, so we threatened to file a lawsuit. My client and I offered to meet in person with the insurance company’s lawyer to show him how the scar looked in real life and discuss how serious we were about taking this case as far as necessary to obtain full recovery for my client.
After that meeting the insurance company agreed to pay their policy limits to our client. She was very happy to be able to obtain the insurance money without having to take a friend to court. As her lawyer, I knew that we were able to show the other side that we knew the value of her claim and weren’t going to back down and take a low offer. Luckily the other side was able to recognize their initial mistake and make things right by paying all of the money to settle her case.
$450,000 Pre-Suit Settlement
Description
Man with low back injury from t-bone collision recovers $450,000.00 from at-fault driver’s insurance company, despite prior history of low back pain.
Our client was injured in a T-bone collision in St. Louis that caused him to suffer a severe injury to his low back. Several months before the crash, our client had had some mild low back pain and went to a chiropractor for treatment. The crash he was involved in caused him to develop severe low back pain, and so he went back to the chiropractor, but this time the pain
was much worse and didn’t go away. He ultimately needed an MRI, steroid injections, and a lumbar fusion surgery to treat his pain from this accident.
We were able to obtain records from his prior low back pain treatment and compare them to the records for all of the treatment he needed after this crash. With those records we were able to show the insurance company that the need for all of his treatment following this crash was from the impact in the collision. By properly identifying potential issues with the case, and taking steps to get out in front of them we were able to stop the defense in their tracks and put pressure on the insurance company to settle the claim without ever having to file a lawsuit.
Our client was thrilled to get such a large settlement without ever having to step foot in court. We were satisfied with the result knowing that our with our work and experience we were able to prepare our client’s case so well that the insurance company that they were on the hook and had to pay.
Motorcyclist Receives $1.25 Million Settlement
Description
Motorcyclist Receives $1.25 Million Settlement Despite Being Charged with DWI, Speeding & Other Charges
A St. Louis County man who was riding a motorcycle near Gravois Bluffs in Fenton, Missouri settled for $1,250,000.00 after another driver pulled out in front of him, causing his motorcycle to crash into the other driver’s car.
The police who responded to the scene saw a young man who was riding on a racing-style street motorcycle and conducted an extremely biased investigation, concluding that the motorcyclist was at fault for the crash, claiming he was traveling in excess of 100 mph and was driving while intoxicated at or near the time of the crash. In all, our client, the motorcyclist, was charged with over 15 traffic violations and arrested following the crash.
This young man was referred to me to help assist him with his claim and defense of the traffic charges and DWI he was issued. After speaking with him extensively regarding the nature of the crash and the condition of the motorcycle after the crash, I made a quick decision to get the motorcycle out of the impound lot immediately and safeguard it for further inspection by a motorcycle crash reconstruction expert. The expert carefully reviewed all of the evidence available, including the motorcycle itself, photos of the crash scene, which we were able to recover from bystander witnesses and other evidence. The result of the analysis was that our client at the time of the impact was well within or even traveling under the speed limit when the other driver pulled out in front of him.
Our client suffered a traumatic brain injury, a broken femur, and severe disc herniations in his lower spine from the crash. After a thorough medical workup, including visits to brain injury specialists, we were able to negotiate a settlement for the full policy limits of $1,250,000.00 from the insurance company of the driver who pulled out in front of the motorcyclist.
Further, all of the criminal charges issued by the Fenton Police, including the speeding of 100 MPH and the DWI, were dismissed following a vigorous defense of those charges. In the end, there simply wasn’t any credible evidence to back up any of the charges issued by the police who responded to the scene and performed a completely inadequate and biased investigation against our client.
Injured Woman Settles For $495,000
Description
Injured Woman Settles for $495,000 after Chain Reaction Crash
A Jefferson County woman who was rear-ended during a chain-reaction crash, while sitting at a red light intersection settled with the at-fault driver’s insurance company for the remaining policy limits of $495,000 (after paying $5,000 to the driver of the third vehicle involved). Although the physical damages to the car were minimal, under $5,000 for bumper repairs, the woman suffered significant injury to her shoulder and lower back.
In the early stages of the case, the insurance company initially disregarded the claim as being so minor as to only cause “soft tissue” injuries. The insurance company’s statements had no bearing on the case in the end, however, as there were several medical doctors who treated the driver that were able to connect the injuries she sustained to trauma, and an extensive pre-crash medical history showed no prior complaints to either region of the woman’s body.
After treatment concluded, I created an extensive packet of information that carefully explained the extent of the injuries my client suffered, the connection between the crash and those injuries, and their driver’s negligence being the sole cause of all of the injuries. I sent that to the adjuster, who had initially dismissed the value of my client’s claim. After a review by that insurance company, a settlement offer for the full policy limits was extended to settle the claim. This was achieved without the need to file any lawsuit, which prevented my client from having to take on added expenses and greatly expedited her actually getting paid by the insurance company.
In the end, nobody was able to give her back what had been taken from the negligent driver’s actions, but she was compensated for her losses to the greatest possible extent under the circumstances. She was very pleased to be able to get her medical treatment completely paid for by the at-fault driver’s insurance and was able to obtain a very significant sum of money for her pain and suffering during the whole process.
Injured Woman Settles For $250,000
Description
Injured Woman Settles for $250,000 Policy Limits after Driver Pulls Out in Front of Her, Causing Crash
A woman driving on Gravois Road in St. Louis, Missouri settled her injury claim for the full policy limits of $250,000.00 following a crash where another driver negligently pulled onto the roadway. When the driver pulled onto Gravois road, my client, who was traveling on Gravois, was unable to stop and avoid the collision with the other driver. The police who responded to the scene concluded that the driver who pulled out failed to yield the right of way to our client.
Our client immediately began feeling intense pain in her lower back and neck, so she went to the emergency room for medical treatment. Eventually, after being treated by several doctors and not getting relief in her low back for several months, she elected to undergo a lumbar fusion surgery to repair an injured disc in her spine.
Following the surgery, a demand was sent to the at-fault driver’s insurance with a 10-day time limit to pay the entire policy limits, to which they accepted and paid. Our client was very happy to be able to achieve the maximum result under the circumstances to compensate her for the extensive back injury the crash caused. Our work on the case ensured that she got the best possible medical treatment, and that the settlement would pay all of her treatment costs and also provide her with financial security from the settlement.
Jefferson County Man Settles For $100,000
Description
Jefferson County Man Settles for $100,000 Following Side-Swipe Crash on St. Louis Highway
A young man traveling to St. Louis from Jefferson County for work was side-swiped on Highway 40, causing him to suffer a torn rotator cuff.
Immediately after the crash, the young man knew something was wrong with his shoulder, so he went to urgent care to get it looked at by a doctor. The doctor at the urgent care didn’t know the extent of the injury, so he was prescribed some pain medications and told to follow up with his doctor if the shoulder didn’t start feeling better soon. Within a couple of days of the crash, he was unable to lift his arm due to shoulder pain, so he went to see a chiropractor. The chiropractor realized that there was a possibility of a rotator cuff tear, and the patient was referred to my office for representation for what was believed to be a very serious injury.
Once I began working on his injury case, I helped arrange for him to see a well-known St. Louis doctor who specializes in shoulder injuries. As I know, getting an injured person to the right doctor right away is the best way to help the person on the road to recovery. After extensive testing on the shoulder, including a physical examination by the shoulder specialist, and MRI imaging, it was discovered that the young man’s rotator cuff was torn. Surgery was performed shortly thereafter to repair the torn tissue. After surgery and several weeks of rehabilitative therapy, the young man was once again able to use his arm without pain in the shoulder.
Once all medical treatment was completed, I was able to negotiate a full policy limit settlement prior to filing any lawsuit for my client. The driver who hit him had a $100,000.00 liability policy, which completely paid for the cost of medical treatment and gave my client a great financial lump sum at the end of the case to compensate him for the pain and suffering he endured as a result of the shoulder injury that came from the crash.