One of the things of which I am proud, is that other attorneys hire me to represent them in personal injury cases.
A worker’s compensation attorney was making a left turn when she was struck by a speeding vehicle proceeding straight, in the dark, without headlights.
Usually, the left turn vehicle must yield to the other car, but she gratefully took down eyewitness information.
The eyewitness testified during the lawsuit phase of the case against the other car and established the fault of the other vehicle. That carrier tendered its $100,000 policy. Once that happened, I made a claim against the additional $150,000 available under my client’s $250,000 supplemental underinsured motorist (SUM) coverage (see prior blogs for explanation).
Since no reasonable offer was forthcoming, I submitted the case to arbitration and hired the treating orthopedic surgeon, to testify as the medical expert. My client had a severe elbow injury which required multiple surgeries and caused her to miss time from work. As usual, I also submitted a full brief in advance to sensitize the arbitrator to our position.
At the end of the day, the award was $145,000 out of $150,000. The arbitrator deducted a small amount for our client’s share of the liability. I am happy to share that my client was very pleased with the outcome.