Recent Personal Injury Cases
$2.4 Million Settlement of Brain Injury Case
Wallace & Graham is pleased to announce a settlement of $2.4 million in a traumatic brain injury case personally handled by Mona Lisa Wallace, with assistance from Lea Keller and the Personal Injury practice team.
This case arose out of a motorcycle accident resulting in severe injuries including facial fractures and a traumatic brain injury. Our client was riding in a motorcycle when he was struck by a woman in a van. He was in the hospital for over a month after the accident.
This case was very complicated because our client was on a “special errand” for his employer at the time of the accident. That means there were both a workers' compensation claim and a negligence claim against the at-fault driver in the van.
Both claims were vigorously contested. The driver of the van insisted that our client was at fault for using his blinker in a turn lane but then failing to execute the turn. The employer believed it wasn’t a workers' compensation claim because our client was not on a special errand for his employer.
As the parties argued over who should pay for the damages caused in this accident, our client’s medical insurance began to pay his medical bills.
After about a year of negotiating, the insurance company for the driver of the van settled that part of the case. When the settlement money came in, the medical insurance company wanted to be repaid for the medical expenses they paid out as a result of the accident. Also, the workers' compensation insurance company did not want our client to get any of his money from the driver of the van until the workers' compensation claim was settled.
The Court decided to hold our client’s money in trust until the parties could work out an agreement. Wallace & Graham appealed the Court’s decision and won, meaning our client was allowed to have access to the money he deserved from the settlement.
While often the firm and its clients may agree to a confidentiality provision as part of a settlement, in this case the client did not agree to the confidentiality provision. The civil settlement amount in this case was for $2.4 million.
Wallace & Graham then went to Court and asked that because the civil settlement was not enough to compensate our client for all of his injuries, would the Court allow our client to receive his workers' compensation benefits without giving the workers' compensation insurance company a credit for the civil money our client received.
The Court agreed that our client was so injured that he deserved both his civil settlement and his workers' compensation benefits.
Shortly after the Court made its ruling, the workers’ compensation claim settled for a confidential amount.
The final piece of this case was negotiating how much our client should have to repay his medical insurance carrier. After several months of negotiations we finally came to an agreement with the insurance carrier to repay a confidential percentage of the funds paid out by the insurance company.
We are pleased with this result for our client.
Proud To Represent Injured Families
We are currently handling several claims arising out of a serious automobile accident in which a man ran a stop sign and collided with a mini van at 45 miles per hour.
The driver of that mini van is a mother of three and she was severely injured as a result of the accident.
The driver’s injuries resulted in several surgeries including placement of pins and rods in her neck. Her three children were also in the vehicle and each suffered permanent injuries and scarring. One of the children had over 100 stitches in her face.
A favorable settlement was reached on behalf of the driver. We continue to litigate the children’s claims.
Our Goal Is To Get Each Client Everything He Or She Deserves
A man was involved in a motor vehicle accident resulting in a heart attack and a severe injury to his shoulder.
Prior to the collision, this client worked in a physically demanding job. As a result of his injury he was forced to take a less physical, lesser paying job.
All available insurance proceeds were collected as settlement of his claim before suit was filed.
We Pay Close Attention Even In Small Cases
On September 5, 2006, a couple was involved in an automobile accident. The male was driving with his five month pregnant fiancée. He was stopped in the eastbound travel lane for traffic in front of him when a negligent driver failed to reduce speed causing a four car collision.
Our client, the driver, suffered from back pain and was diagnosed with spasms. Our other client, the passenger, was diagnosed with a blunt trauma closed head injury. Due to her pregnancy the diagnostic testing were put on hold until she delivered her unborn child.
The property damage claim was immediately settled. We monitored her closely during the remainder of her pregnancy and provided her comfort during those months of fear caused by the unknown question of how this accident may have affected the unborn child. In November 2006, she gave birth to a healthy baby boy.
Both cases were settled; the driver for $2,800, the passenger for $5,000, and their medical liens were all reduced.
We hope that cases like this demonstrate our law firm’s willingness to fight for injured individuals even when the damages are not very large.
Settlement of Motor Vehicle Defect Case
A young pregnant mother went to a friend’s house to pick up a video tape. Upon arriving at the house she put her van in park, left the engine running and exited the vehicle. While in the carport area picking up the video, she saw the van rolling backwards. Her four year old daughter was still in the vehicle.
The mother franticly ran down the driveway and attempted to get into the driver’s side door. She became trapped underneath the left front wheel. Unfortunately, she and her unborn twins were killed.
After thorough investigation it became apparent that the van did not have any type of independent locking device to prevent the transmission from moving from park to reverse. There was no brake pedal release, push button release, or any other fail safe mechanisms to prevent this type of accident.
Wallace & Graham brought a claim on behalf of the mother’s estate, the unborn children, the husband and the four year old surviving child. The case settled for a significant confidential sum at mediation.
Slip And Fall Cases Are Tough But We Continue To Fight For Our Clients
We recently reached a favorable settlement for a 76 year old woman who slipped and fell on an icy walkway at a popular restaurant food chain.
Our client was traveling from Pennsylvania to Florida when she stopped to get something to eat. Although the premises were an icy mess, the restaurant opened for business and did not clear off the icy walkways. Our client fell and seriously injured her ankle and back. She had to undergo surgery and now has pins in her ankle.
Although the restaurant denied liability in this matter, blaming our client for trying to walk on an icy side walk, we were able to reach a favorable settlement at a pre-suit mediation.
Perseverance Paid Off In The Search For Insurance
Wallace & Graham represented a young man who was hit head on by another young man driving a rented moving truck.
After being told there was no available insurance from the at-fault driver, our personal injury attorney continued to dig and read every available insurance policy rather than just believing the adjusters.
Eventually, it turned out that while the at-fault driver had let his insurance lapse, he was still a named insured on his mother’s policy and therefore, his mother’s insurance company paid damages to our client.
In the end our client received compensation from the rental company and the at-fault driver for his badly injured and scarred arm.
Wrongful Death At Workplace Leads To Confidential Settlement
Many toxic gases and substances are used in manufacturing plants. In a recent case a manufacturing plant sought to rearrange its off-line paint booths and solicited bids from companies to perform the work.
The company that submitted the lowest bid was supposed to disconnect the air, water, and mechanical lines from the booths, relocate the booths, turn them 180 degrees, and then reconnect the piping in order to render the booths operational.
Unfortunately, the company did not properly reconnect the piping and two of the employees breathed in toxic gas. One employee died as a result.
We brought a claim on behalf of the deceased employee’s family and successfully resolved the claim for a confidential amount.
Wrongful Death Case Leads To Confidential Settlement
A 53 year old man was traveling through a green light when a tractor trailer ran a red light and t-boned him in the driver side at approximately 55 miles per hour. The tractor trailer pushed the vehicle approximately 454 feet before stopping in an embankment. The driver of the car died instantly as a result of the collision.
Wallace & Graham represented his family in an action against the tractor trailer driver and the company for which he was working.
Wallace & Graham was able to obtain a substantial sum on behalf of the deceased family.
Of course, not every case will result in a settlement or judgment for the plaintiff. Each case will be determined on its own specific factual and legal circumstances.
If you believe you may have a personal injury claim, feel free to call us at 1-800-849-5291 or use this convenient form.