Driver's Insurance Company Makes Low Ball Offer To Victim Injured In Suv Accident
There is value in analyzing vehicle accident lawsuits where insurance companies have
made offers well under the total ultimately achieved by the victim at trial. These claims illustrate the issues that might come into consideration in the offer and the issues that may change the ultimate outcome.For example, look at a claim in which a bicyclist was hurt. The driver in this lawsuit was driving an SUV. The victim recounted seeing the driver come from the opposite direction then make a U-turn immediately in front of him giving him no time to stop his bicycle. This caused him to go over the hood of the vehicle. The victim tore a cartilage in his wrist in the accident. This caused him problems at work where he was a mechanic for a high-end motor vehicle dealer. Testimony from a doctor pointed out that the bicyclist will probably need surgery to fuse the bones in his wrist at some point in the future and that when this happens it will probably stop him from continuing to hold down a job as a mechanic. This would lead to a loss of earning capacity.
In the course of its investigation into the circumstances of the case the law firm that represented the victim found that , at the time of the accident, the driver was test-driving the SUV on behalf of his employer. The reason for the test drive was to put together an advertising review of the vehicle.
The bicyclist, no doubt with the advice of the law firm representing him, did not accept these settlement offers. The law firm was able to report that the case went to trial where they got a verdict from the jury for $550,000.
Both sides knew the specifics of this case in advance of trial. The testimony of the physician was not a surprise. However, each saw the claim from a distinct point of view and as a result reached a very different conclusion as to the value of the case. The insurance company adjuster and defense lawyer most likely viewed the claim as about an injury from which there was a full recovery. They most likely discounted the bicyclists position that he had difficulties from the injury when he went back to his job. And they most likely believed that the physician's testimony was either too speculative or too far removed from the present.
The law firm that represented the plaintiff, however, knew that it was not that simple. This injury was one that was not resolved but rather one which left the plaintiff with a weakened wrist a wrist that in time would require significant surgery after which the wrist would never be the same again. The law limited the amount of time the victim had to pursue a lawsuit so he could not wait until the wrist failed him as by then it would be too late. However the law did let him to recover now for future effects of the injury. This is how the law firm positioned the case on behalf of the plaintiff and the jury agreed.
by: Joseph Hernandez What You Should Know About Health Care After An Accident Without Insurance Accident Lawyers and Personal Injury Claims The Rewards of Employing a Automobile Accident Lawyer Easy And Free Movement For Those Disabled Or Suffering From Serious Accident (limb) Injuries: Electr Sacramento Motorcycle Accidents And Insurance Claims Accident Injury Lawyers Are On Your Side Serious Accidents And Personal Injury Attorneys! What Must You Do When You Meet with an Automobile Accident in Denver? Inbreeding Rabbits Biological Pest Control Breeding For Host Resistance Traffic Accident Injury Attorney Dallas-dallas Injury Attorney Assistance Of Missouri Auto Accident Attorney Will Lead You To The Path Of Justice What If You Are Injured In An Accident With An Uninsured Driver? Can You Claim Compensation?