I was successful Friday in obtaining a large settlement at a hotly contested mediation for my client who was injured in a wreck but whose car showed very little property damage. Trial was set today (Monday). The defendant’s vehicle only sustained a scratch. Below are photographs of the two vehicles.Because of the small amount of damage and other problems with the case, the original offer from the insurance company was only $12,000.00.
Further, the defense lawyer — one of the most experienced in Dallas — argued that my client had slammed on her box due to a box in the road ahead of her and thatcaused the accident, not their 19-year-old driver who admitted she wasn’t paying attention when I pinned her down in her deposition. He also argued that my client, an athletic 32-year-old dance instructor had a neck injury before the wreck and that this visually minor wreck did not cause her injuries (there was hardly any damage to the front bumper of his client’s Cadillac Escalade SUV). He hired a doctor who wrote a lengthy report stating that the plaintiff had serious osteophytic problems in her neck and would have needed surgery any way.
I took my client’s neurosurgeon’s deposition (until 9:30 one night) and had him state that the only reason my client needed surgery was due to the collision.
I subpoenaed the Defendant’s cell phone records and proved that she was talking on the phone when the wreck happened, and that she lied in her deposition when she stated she hadn’t used her phone just before the crash.
My client’s “paid” medical bills “paid” amount was $24,000.00 and she had several thousand dollars in lost wages from her part time job.
I was then able to reduce the amount of money my client needed to repay her medical insurance company by over $25,000.00. My wonderful client was very pleased with the result.