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When you’ve been injured in an accident caused by the negligence of another, the last thing you want to hear is that the other party’s insurance company is refusing to cover your damages. In a recent case, the insurance company made an insulting and dismissive settlement offer to our client, but the aggressive litigation of our attorney, Moshe Borukh, resulted in our client getting far more than he had initially asked for.
In October 2011, our client was rear-ended while traveling northbound on Interstate 95 in Maryland. The next day, he went to Mount Sinai St. Luke’s Hospital in Manhattan and learned that he had sustained injuries to his neck and lower back, including several herniated and bulging discs, as well as an annular tear. Two weeks after the accident he commenced a one-year course of physical therapy that required 2-3 appointments per week. Our client decided to sue the driver of the other vehicle for negligence in the operation of his automobile.
Spar & Bernstein personal injury attorney, Moshe Borukh, was assigned to the case. After consulting with the client, Moshe filed the suit for $15,000 for medical costs and pain and suffering. The insurance company made an offer to settle for merely $500, even though the policy limit of the defendant’s insurance plan was $100,000. Moshe resoundingly rejected the settlement offer, and pursued the case to trial.
To complicate matters, only four weeks after the initial accident, our client was involved in a subsequent accident. The defense counsel argued that our client’s injuries originated from the second accident, rather than the first. Moshe argued that the severity of the first accident was greater than that of the subsequent accident, since his client required hospitalization after the first accident, but didn’t require hospitalization for the second accident, and that the claims made were based off the doctor’s findings before the second accident took place.
After 2 days of trial and 6 hours of deliberation the jury returned with a verdict in our client’s favor for $124,500, plus interest, for past and future suffering, totaling over $155,000 for our client.
In a personal injury case, the insurance company has an obligation to their customer to settle claims within the customer’s policy limits. If the insurance company doesn’t settle within the policy limits and the jury awards the plaintiff more than the coverage provided, the customer is responsible to pay the difference. If the insurance company had the opportunity to settle the claim within the policy limits and they refused to save themselves money, then they are not living up to their obligation. In this case, the insurance company refused to settle within the policy limits and our client walked away with more than the policy limits and substantially more than they were originally seeking.
No amount of money can erase the traumatic experience of being hurt in a car crash, but it can help to make you whole again. At Spar & Bernstein, we aggressively work for each client that chooses us to represent them. If you’ve been injured in a car accident, and the insurance company is refusing to cover your expenses, contact us at 1-800-529-5465 (USA) or +1-212-227-8933 (INTERNATIONAL), or visit us at www.lawsb.com.