Mr. Driver travels down a road he knows very well on a clear, Fall day. He readies himself to turn left into a gas station. Sitting in the front passenger seat is his wife who sees a motorcyclist approaching from the opposite direction. She yells to watch out. Mr. Driver does not yield the right of way to the motorcycle. Instead, he turns left toward the gas station and cuts off the motorcyclist. The motorcyclist crashes into the side of Mr. Driver’s car, ejects from his seat, hits the car and lands in the roadway. The motorcyclist is our client, Arthur Vee.
Arthur sustained a fractured right arm and fractured right lower leg. He had surgeries where plates and screws were implanted to repair his fractures. After filing a lawsuit against Mr. Driver, we discovered he had a $1,000,000 umbrella insurance in addition to his $250,000 auto insurance policy. We quickly deposed all witnesses, including an eyewitness, who testified Mr. Driver cut off our client. We also deposed Mr. Driver, who, as it turns out, is a licensed optometrist. Nevertheless, Mr. Driver claimed during his deposition that he did not see the motorcycle until it was too late, even though his wife yelled to him to watch out for the motorcycle.
After months of inpatient and outpatient care, Arthur was able to return to work as a machinist, albeit in a limited capacity. Nearly a year and a half after the crash, Arthur was just starting to enjoy his life again when his right leg gave out while walking with his cane in an icy parking lot. His right upper leg fractured in the fall. He needed yet another surgery with more hardware. We argued this new fracture was caused by the crash because Arthur’s leg was still weak. However, Mr. Driver’s insurance company and defense lawyer refused to accept responsibility for the new fracture. We then met with Arthur’s surgeon who pointed out that Arthur’s right upper leg bone appeared fine in X-rays right after the crash; however, it appeared weak in X-rays taken before the fall in the parking lot. This weakness resulted from not being able to use his right leg after the crash during non-weight-bearing rehabilitation. Also, the area of weakness was in the exact location that was affected by the low energy fall in the parking lot. After careful review of Arthur’s X-rays before and after the fall in the parking lot, Arthur’s surgeon attributed all of the injuries, including those from the fall, to the original crash with Mr. Driver.
With the compelling deposition testimony and strong opinion of Arthur’s surgeon, we were able to reach a settlement for $1,000,000 at mediation, with $250,000 coming from Mr. Driver’s auto insurance and the remaining $750,000 coming from his umbrella policy.
A local police officer, Gerald Seine, was off duty and riding his own motorcycle ahead of his close friend Arthur at the time of the crash. Knowing the results we have obtained for injured officers, Officer Seine referred Arthur to us. We were glad to represent Arthur and are always available to assist the friends and family of police officers.
– Steven Ballin, Esq and Jared Ballin, Esq.
Arthur sustained a fractured right arm and fractured right lower leg. He had surgeries where plates and screws were implanted to repair his fractures. After filing a lawsuit against Mr. Driver, we discovered he had a $1,000,000 umbrella insurance in addition to his $250,000 auto insurance policy. We quickly deposed all witnesses, including an eyewitness, who testified Mr. Driver cut off our client. We also deposed Mr. Driver, who, as it turns out, is a licensed optometrist. Nevertheless, Mr. Driver claimed during his deposition that he did not see the motorcycle until it was too late, even though his wife yelled to him to watch out for the motorcycle.
After months of inpatient and outpatient care, Arthur was able to return to work as a machinist, albeit in a limited capacity. Nearly a year and a half after the crash, Arthur was just starting to enjoy his life again when his right leg gave out while walking with his cane in an icy parking lot. His right upper leg fractured in the fall. He needed yet another surgery with more hardware. We argued this new fracture was caused by the crash because Arthur’s leg was still weak. However, Mr. Driver’s insurance company and defense lawyer refused to accept responsibility for the new fracture. We then met with Arthur’s surgeon who pointed out that Arthur’s right upper leg bone appeared fine in X-rays right after the crash; however, it appeared weak in X-rays taken before the fall in the parking lot. This weakness resulted from not being able to use his right leg after the crash during non-weight-bearing rehabilitation. Also, the area of weakness was in the exact location that was affected by the low energy fall in the parking lot. After careful review of Arthur’s X-rays before and after the fall in the parking lot, Arthur’s surgeon attributed all of the injuries, including those from the fall, to the original crash with Mr. Driver.
With the compelling deposition testimony and strong opinion of Arthur’s surgeon, we were able to reach a settlement for $1,000,000 at mediation, with $250,000 coming from Mr. Driver’s auto insurance and the remaining $750,000 coming from his umbrella policy.
A local police officer, Gerald Seine, was off duty and riding his own motorcycle ahead of his close friend Arthur at the time of the crash. Knowing the results we have obtained for injured officers, Officer Seine referred Arthur to us. We were glad to represent Arthur and are always available to assist the friends and family of police officers.
– Steven Ballin, Esq and Jared Ballin, Esq.
RSS Feed
