Motor Vehicle Accident Cases
- Motorcycle v. Horse Trailer Crash: Recovered over $870,000 for a claimant who suffered a fractured shoulder and clavicle, multiple rib fractures, a severely sprained ankle, and soft tissue damage to his foot after a driver pulling a horse trailer made a right-hand turn in front of him. While Defendant argued the incident occurred because the claimant was traveling at an excessive rate of speed, we were able to prove during discovery that Defendant was an uncontrolled diabetic, his vision was affected when his blood sugar was not controlled, and that on the day of the incident he had not been taking precautionary steps necessary to keep his blood sugar as safe levels before attempting to drive at night. This case was resolved after claimant's motion for leave to add a punitive damages claim was granted by the Court based on Defendant's allegedly reckless conduct.
- Claim against Florida Governmental Agency and Underinsured Motorist Carrier: Recovered a total of $300,000-full $100,000 immunity limits from the Florida Governmental Agency and the full $200,000 underinsured motorist limits-after claimant suffered a severe lower back injury requiring surgery as a result of a motor vehicle crash caused by a negligent sheriff's deputy.
- Mild Traumatic Brain Injury: Recovered $450,000, through a pre-suit settlement, for a client who was injured in a rear end motor vehicle crash, suffered mild traumatic brain injury, significant psychological trauma, and a shoulder injury requiring surgery.
- Neck and Shoulder Injuries: Recovered $350,000, through a pre-suit settlement, for ac client who was injured in a rear end motor vehicle crash and suffered neck and shoulder injuries for which surgery had been recommended but could not be completed as the result of an unrelated health condition suffered by the client.
- Mid-Foot Fracture: Recovered a total of $430,000 for a claimant who was injured when another driver was rear-ended, then propelled into her lane of travel, resulting in a t-bone collision and a severe mid-foot fracture for claimant. This recovery was made as a combination of liability benefits from the driver who caused the rear end collision and first-party benefits available under the insurance policy applicable to the vehicle claimant was driving at the time of the crash.
- Claim against Florida Governmental Agency and Underinsured Motorist Carrier: Recovered the $150,000-the full $100,000 immunity limits from a Florida Governmental Agency and the full $50,000 underinsured motorist limits--after a sheriff's deputy caused a rear end collision resulting in non-surgical, but chronic, neck injuries to claimant.
- Negligent Road Maintenance: Recovered the $100,000 immunity limits from a Florida Governmental Agency after a county road maintenance department left a load of unmarked limerock in the middle of a dirt road, resulting in a lumbar compression fracture for claimant. While Defendant argued the limerock was clearly visible and was on a rural, dirt road, claimant successfully demonstrated that a combination of the sun in his eyes and the similarity in color of the limerock and road surface-combined with the counties violation of its own road maintenance procedures-was sufficient to prove liability so that the limits were paid prior to trial.
- Recovery in Excess of Insurance Limits: Recovered a total of $220,000-the full $100,000 insurance limits for the adverse driver and $120,000 from an uninsured motorist insurer which provided only $20,000 in underinsured motorist coverage-after the uninsured motorist insurer failed to timely pay its $20,000 in underinsured motorist benefits.
- Excessive Speed Contributing to Crash: Recovered a total of $300,000-all the combined limits of insurance available-for a clients in a serious injury and death case when one client was initially deemed at fault for the accident by the investigating officer for failing to yield the right-of-way to the other vehicle. A detailed investigation, however, revealed the other vehicle was traveling well in excess of the speed limit and caused the client to misjudge the time available to safely make a left-hand turn in front of oncoming traffic.
- Policy Limits Recovery-RSD/Complex Regional Pain Syndrome: Recovered the full $100,000 insurance limits available following a crash in which the client was diagnosed with Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy/Complex Regional Pain Syndrome in an upper extremity following the accident.
- Soft-Tissue Injury: Recovered $25,000, through a settlement, for a client who was diagnosed only with soft-tissue neck injuries following a motor vehicle crash. This recover was 4 times more than the insurance carrier initially offered. While this was not a substantial monetary recovery, it is a case many attorneys would settle for "commonly accepted" values for cases instead of fighting for a more just result on behalf of the injured victim.
- Claim against Florida Governmental Agency and Underinsured Motorist Carrier: Recovered a total of $310,000 for a husband and wife who were injured when a Sheriff's detective pulled out in front of them and violated their right of way, causing significant injuries to the wife requiring surgical repair of a broken shoulder. The full sovereign immunity limits and underinsured motorist limits were recovered for the wife, totaling $200,000, and a total of $110,000 was recovered for the husband even though his own personal injuries were not severe.
- Fractured Hip Joint: Recovered $195,000 for a young man injured in a motor vehicle crash who suffered a non-displaced fracture of the acetabulum in the hip joint that did not require surgery and non-surgical lower back injuries.
- Non-Surgical Neck and Back Injuries: Recovered $80,000 for a client who was injured in a t-bone crash causing neck and back injuries which were non-surgical in nature but resulted in permanent injury.
- Soft-Tissue Neck and Wrist Injuries: Recovered $100,000 for a client injured in a low impact rear end collision resulting in non-surgical soft tissue injuries to her neck and back.
- Surgical Lower Back Injury: Recovered $250,000, through a pre-suit settlement, for a client who suffered a lower back injury which would require future surgical intervention.
- Head-On Collision-Shoulder Surgery: Recovered $325,000, through a pre-suit settlement, for a client injured in a head-on collision causing a shoulder injury which required surgery.
- Multiple Accidents-Overlapping Injuries: Recovered a total of $225,000 for a client injured in separate motor vehicle accidents which resulted in soft tissue neck injuries. The defendant driver's in the two accidents blamed each other for the client's injuries which, due to the severity of ligament instability in her neck, would eventually require surgical intervention.
- Shoulder Separation: Recovered the full policy limits of $100,000 for a client injured in a motor vehicle crash who suffered a significant shoulder separation, but no other injury. The shoulder separation was significant and required surgical intervention and placement of a surgical screw through her clavicle (collar bone) to allow it to heal.
- Knee Injury-Arthroscopic Surgery: Recovered $80,000 for a client injured in a motor vehicle crash who required outpatient surgery to repair a dime-sized lesion (chondromalacia) of the meniscus in her knee.
- Surgical Shoulder Injury: Recovered $110,000, through a pre-suit settlement, for a client who was injured in a rear end motor vehicle crash that required surgical intervention. While this case likely could have been resolved for more money given severity of the injury, the client did not want to file a lawsuit and placed a high value on avoiding the stress of litigation.
- Motor Vehicle v. Horse Collision: Recovered $100,000 for a client in a disputed liability case which arose out of a car hitting a horse on rural county roads early in the morning while it was still dark outside. The injuries included a fractured hand and a subdural hematoma, both of which fortunately healed well. This was a hard fought recovery because the owner of the horse which had escaped its paddock aggressively defended whether he was negligent and Florida law is not favorable to claimants in "roaming livestock" cases.
- Arthroscopic Knee Surgery-ACL Tear: Recovered $150,000, the full limits of available coverage, through a pre-suit settlement for a claimant who suffered a torn ACL in a motor vehicle collision.
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Neck Surgery: Recovered $110,000, the full limits of available insurance coverage, for a claimant who suffered a neck injury that required surgery as a result of a motor vehicle crash.
