I am delighted to announce my latest substantial recovery, this one achieved on behalf of Clayton. His truck was side swiped by a rock truck turning at an intersection in Richland Hills in December of 2008.
Although my client told the police that he was fine and drove home, he eventually had to undergo a two level cervical fusion. He also missed a lot of time from his job at Bell Helicopter.I filed suit when the insurance carrier for the truck refused to pay my client for his damages. It claimed that he was the driver at fault, and as if that were not ridiculous enough, that he was not seriously injured and/or that his neck had been previously injured (it had been, but at a different level).
The case was defended by an aggressive Dallas law firm which used every trick in the book to deny and delay the case. The insurance company’s lawyers also argued that since only $50,000.00 of my client’s medical bills was paid by the man’s health insurance carrier, the verdict potential was severely limited under the horrible 2003 “paid vs. incurred” statute. It further claimed that the visible damage to the side of his truck was relatively minor, that their insured’s truck had no damage, that he didn’t need the surgery, that his medical bills were excessive, and that he had fully recovered from his injuries.
I fought hard, took depositions all over the Metroplex (the video below is a clip from the deposition I took in Dallas of an eyewitness where I proved that the defendant driver was lying when he stated in his deposition that the plaintiff had driven into his lane), won several key hearings in court, prevented the defendants’ key expert from testifying, and hammered the other side at a mediation the day before trial.
And to sweeten the pot, I greatly reduced the subrogation lien held by Clayton’s health insurance carrier and knocked down his outstanding medical bills, which resulted in him getting a lot more money.
My client was ecstatic with the outcome and very nicely wrote the following:
I trusted Mr. Berenson completely with my case and he took care of me the whole way. I didn’t have to worry about a thing. I left everything up to him and I could not have been happier with my decision. He and his staff were outstanding. If I ever started to worry about anything, I would call the office and he or one of his assistants would explain everything and make me feel better.
After hours at the mediation, when he kept pushing and pushing and forced the insurance company to pay me $750,000.00, I thought I was dreaming.
Mr. Berenson is a great lawyer. I am incredibly happy that I hired him. I would recommend him to anyone.
I am delighted that with his proceeds, Clayton has decided to retire after working there for 20 years and possibly start a new career. Or just enjoy the rest of his life and not work.
It was my honor to represent this fine gentleman and wish him the best of luck in everything that he does in the future.