We have talked a lot about how we go to trial to fight for our clients, and a couple recent jury verdicts show why we’re willing to go all the way to the courtroom. In both cases, insurance companies gave our injured clients low-ball offers that just wouldn’t provide them with the money they needed for things like medical bills and living expenses incurred when out of work. This is people’s lives we’re talking about here.
It feels horrible when you have trouble paying steep medical bills from an accident you didn’t even cause. You shouldn’t have to add a battle with an insurance company into the mix.
Below are the verdicts that changed lives. This is why we fight for our clients.
An SUV-on-Skateboard Accident: A Verdict 36 Times the Settlement Offer
Last week, Morgan & Morgan attorneys John Dill, of our Orlando office, and Martin Jaffe, who runs our Deland office, fought hard to get a client proper compensation for an injury she suffered when an SUV hit her. After taking the case to trial, Dill and Jaffe got our client $535,000 — about 36 times the $15,000 pre-trial offer.
At the time of her accident, the client had been riding her skateboard on a street in her neighborhood. When she approached a four-way stop, she noticed an SUV stopped on her left. The car then proceeded to go when she did and she collided with the car, breaking her leg.
She needed to surgeries to install and remove hardware, leaving her with a scar. Our client sued her insurer State Farm to get compensation to which she was entitled.
The defense argued that the accident was 100 percent our client’s fault — they believed it so much they spent $20,000 on an accident reconstruction expert. On cross-examination, our attorneys were able to get the expert to show that the SUV driver had time to see our client and avoid the crash.
An Orange County, Florida, jury agreed and returned its verdict. This is why we fight.
“This case is important because insurance companies continue to low-ball plaintiffs with the hope that plaintiffs’ attorneys will take the last offer and not proceed to trial,” Dill says. “Our mentality is to try these cases and trust in our local juries to do justice.”
A Jury’s Answer to a Rear-End Crash? 42
Last month, our attorney Brian McClain, based in Orlando, successfully won $678,850 for a client who had been injured in a rear-end accident. The jury verdict was a noteworthy win, because State Farm had initially offered $16,000. McClain was able to get his client more than 42 times that.
Our client suffered greatly after she was rear-ended. She had continuous and progressive pain in her neck and lower back. Even four years after the crash, an MRI showed she had a herniation in her lower back, requiring two surgical procedures — in addition to all of the treatment she previously had undergone.
State Farm denied that she needed the surgery or that any ongoing symptoms were related to the car crash. McClain was able to show the jury that the insurance company was wrong.
In the end, the jury returned its verdict and gave our client the necessary compensation she needs to help get her life back on track. This is why we fight.
Need Someone to Fight for You?
Those are just a couple recent examples of how we protect our clients. If you’re injured after a car accident and need someone to take the burden of insurance fights off you, our attorneys might be able to help. Give us a call at 877-785-3815 or fill out our free, no-risk case evaluation form today.
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