Auto v. Semi-Truck: Rear Ended

Our client was involved in a horrific collision: she was severely rear-ended by a semi-truck. The shocking property damage photographs would make most people question whether our client even survived the collision. Fortunately, she walked away alive and suffered a right wrist fracture that healed with a soft brace. Her total medical expenses were $23,708.73.

The defendant’s insurance company had a $1,000,000 commercial liability policy limit. Initially the insurance company offered around $18,000 to settle days after the collision. Given their low-ball offer, our client knew she needed legal representation and hired our firm.

Their offer in response to our settlement demand was $34,866.06. After two weeks of negotiating, they increased their offer to $64,267 – claiming it was their top offer. As a result, we persuaded our client to agree to mediation and reject their proposed offer.

At mediation, they increased their offer to $67,000 and eventually $70,000. We rejected their $70,000 offer, explaining our client’s pain and suffering was significant and could not be approached in a cookie-cutter way. Our client did well explaining the impact to her daily life and the trauma she suffered because of the accident. As a result, the offer was increased to $80,000.

Although we believed her case was worth more than $80,000, our client chose to settle the case because she wanted to “put the matter behind her and move on with her life.” Ultimately, she was happy with her settlement and extremely thankful for our hard work and dedication to her case.