One of the quickest ways to screw up your Georgia car wreck or personal injury case is to hire one of the law firms that you see and hear advertising on TV, radio, and billboards. These sorts of lawyers often have never seen the inside of a courtroom, never try cases, usually don’t even file lawsuits, and settle cases for far less than they’re worth.
A personal injury case that our Georgia car wreck lawyers settled is a good example of this. We settled the case for $125,000, which was the maximum amount of available insurance, without even having to file a lawsuit – after a TV lawyer tried to settle it for less than $25,000.
We’ll call our client Mr. W. He was making a left turn when a drunk driver ran a red light and crashed into the front of his car. Mr. W tore his rotator cuff in the wreck, requiring surgery to repair it, and also hurt his neck and back. His medical bills from the rotator cuff surgery were over $55,000.
Mr. W initially made the mistake of hiring a certain unnamed local law firm that he saw on TV. After reviewing Mr. W’s medical records, one of the lawyers at the other firm told Mr. W he couldn’t prove Mr. W’s torn rotator cuff was caused by this accident because Mr. W didn’t complain of shoulder pain at the emergency room, and didn’t have the surgery until several months after the accident. The lawyer told him to settle for less than the drunk driver’s $25,000 insurance policy limits. Mr. W understandably wasn’t happy with this and fired the TV lawyer’s firm and hired us.
We reviewed Mr. W’s medical records and though he hadn’t complained of shoulder pain at the emergency room, he had complained of shoulder pain at a doctor visit several days later. He continued to complain of shoulder pain during doctor and physical therapy visits for the next several months. His orthopedist eventually ordered an MRI, diagnosed Mr. W with a torn rotator cuff and ordered surgery. Based on this and the fact that Mr. W had never had shoulder problems before, we thought we could prove to the insurance company and a jury that this accident tore Mr. W’s rotator cuff.
We used a time-limited demand and the threat of punitive damages to settle with Progressive, the drunk driver’s insurance company, for the drunk driver’s $25,000 policy limits.
The next step was settling with GEICO, Mr. W’s uninsured motorist company. Mr. W had $100,000 in add-on/excess uninsured motorist coverage. We sent a $100,000 settlement demand to GEICO outlining Mr. W’s medical treatment, his consistent complaints of shoulder pain after the accident and how his medical records from before the accident showed no shoulder problems. We explained that with $55,000 in medical bills, surgery, and a drunk driver causing this accident, a jury verdict was going to be a lot more than $125,000 – the combined limits of the drunk driver’s $25,000 Progressive insurance policy and Mr. W’s add-on/excess uninsured motorist coverage. GEICO accepted our settlement demand and agreed to pay Mr. W his $100,000 uninsured motorist policy limits.
If you’ve hired a TV lawyer, don’t let them screw up your case like they nearly did Mr. W’s. You can change lawyers at any time. Call our Georgia car wreck attorneys for a free consultation.
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