Settlement: $200,000
This settlement is before attorney’s fees, costs and medical bills were subtracted. A driver of a car hit a car that our client was a passenger in.
This was a T-bone intersection accident , which resulted in surgery on her wrist fracture. She also had spinal injuries, including back pain (bulging disc) and neck pain (2 herniated discs). The picture to the right is not the actual picture of the car from the case.
Case type: Personal Injury, Driver of Car Hit by Another Car
State/County/City: Florida/Miami-Dade/Miami
Settlement Date: 2011
Claimant’s Atty: Justin Ziegler
Insurer for Car Cited for Causing the Accident/ Liability Claims Adjuster:
USAA (United Services Automobile Association) Insurance/Kim Gegan
Old Dominion Insurance Company (Main Street America Group)/ Paula Albritton
Old Dominion Insurance Company insured the employer of the at-fault driver. Old Dominion is part of The Main Street America Group.
Parties:
My client was a middle-aged woman who was working as maid at time of accident.
Insurer for driver of other car was USAA Insurance. Insurer for employer of the at-fault vehicle was Old Dominion Insurance Company.
Summary:
My client was riding driving a car near Overtown, East Little Havana, Allapattah and Downtown Miami. Another driver of a car ran a red light at the intersection.
That driver crashed into my client. An ambulance took my client to the hospital. I believe that the other driver admitted fault to the officer.
I believe an off duty police officer observed the accident and felt that the other driver was at fault.
Tip: If you are a driver of a car, and a witness testifies that the other driver ran a red light and hit you, this is one factor in the determining the settlement value of your case.
The other driver did not place blame on my driver. But if she would have said that my client was speeding, this may have reduced the value of my client’s case. This is because the total settlement value of a person’s case is reduced by his or her percentage of fault.
Claimant’s Injuries Damages:
My client sustained a broken wrist and pain and bruising throughout her body. She had the following surgery:
- Open reduction and internal fixation of the left distal radius fracture
- Tenotomy of brachioradialis tendon at the wrist
A metal plate and screws, similar to the one(s) in the photo below, were put inside her wrist.
A picture of the scar from the surgical site on my client’s forearm is below.
She also had back pain (1 bulging disc) and neck pain (2 herniated discs).
Policy Limits for Bodily Injury (BI) Liability coverage (through USAA) on the at-fault car:
One hundred thousand dollars ($100,000)
Policy Limits for Bodily Injury (BI) Liability coverage (through Old Dominion /Main Street America Group) for the employer of the at-fault driver:
One million dollars ($1,000,000)
Settlement Details:
The case settled for $200,000. My client’s hospital bills were about $50,000 or so but I was able to get the hospital to accept $25,000 as final settlement of her entire balance.
My client owned a car at the time of the crash. Therefore, she was provided Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage through her own auto insurer, United Automobile Insurance Company (UAIC), because she driving a car at the time of the accident.
Her Personal Injury Protection coverage paid $10,000 to her medical providers for the related medical bills that arose from her treatment.
Breakdown:
It was my position that at-fault driver was liable for running a red light. Both of the insurance adjusters really did not place blame for causing the crash.
USAA quickly paid its policy limits of $100,000 because my client’s damages (medical bills, pain and suffering and lost wages) were so big compared to her injuries.
My calculation is that $150,000 or so of the total settlement was for pain and suffering.
Other comments:
The case settled pre-suit (before a lawsuit) very quickly – several months – after the accident.
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