In this article we discuss yet another case in which an insurer made only low ball offers to settle a motor vehicle case in which the victim suffered a serious injury, this time an injury that actually affected the victim's ability to work.
In this case an individual driving an SUV was involved in an accident with bicyclist. According to the victim, the driver was coming in the opposite direction when, without warning, he made a U-turn right in front of him causing him to over the SUV's hood. The victim tore a cartilage in his wrist during the accident. This caused him difficulties at work where he was a mechanic for a high-end motor vehicle dealer. And a physician testified that the victim will likely eventually need to be fused and that this will likely end his career as a mechanic. This would result in a loss of earning capacity.
The law firm that handled this matter uncovered that the driver was test-driving the SUV in order to be able to write an advertising review of the SUV for his employer. This added the driver's employer as a defendant. Early on the insurance company for the defendant had made an offer to settle the case - for $10,000. The week before the trial they raised their
offer - to $30,000.
The law firm that represented the victim reported that they instead took the case to trial and the jury awarded the victim $550,000. This amount represented $250,000 in economic damages (which would normally include medical expenses and loss of earning capacity) and $300,000 in non-economic damages (this is the pain and suffering caused by the injuries).
Her we have a case where liability was not an issue. What was an issue was the value of the victim's injuries. The insurer probably viewed this as a minor injury that resolved itself. From this viewpoint an offer of $30,000 may seen reasonable.
But the law firm representing the victim positioned the case so that it was not about an injury that resolved itself but about an injury that would come back to haunt the victim in the future. The injury may not have required surgery immediately but it caused sufficient damage to the wrist that it would require in all likelihood not only surgery but a fusion. And this would most likely put an end to the victim's career as a mechanic of high-end cars. By letting the jury consider the full impact of the injury the law firm was able to achieve a verdict over eighteen times the amount offered by the insurer.
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