We were recently able to secure a policy limits settlement for our client and friend Randy.
Randy and I became friends many years ago when he painted my house. He is a nice and hard working man. He later had a crash on his motorcycle in Jefferson County when a motorist pulled out in front of him. The insurance company would not settle and we tried his case in 2012.
We tried the case and won. He was amazing on the stand – insisting he could still paint like he used to before the open rotator cuff surgery he had and said he was pain free. He would not exaggerate even a little, which was absolutely fantastic – the jury loved him.
He worked so hard to get better that I called his physical therapist to the stand who testified he attended 52 of 52 PT visits and was the hardest working patient she ever had. I demanded $140,000 to settle and the jury awarded Randy $142,000.
I still have the article framed in my office. Here’s a pic of it:
I am lucky still have Randy as a friend. And more recently, Randy got hurt again.
Randy was rear-ended on I 270, injuring his back and neck.
He saw his primary care doctor, and treated conservatively for four months, but the pain did not go away, it got worse, with shooting pain into his right shoulder. Randy saw an orthopedist and received an MRI that showed multiple disc protrusions in his neck.
A really good surgeon did a microdiscectomy and fusion on his neck, and a follow up surgery was required for further neck and throat issue.
Through all this time, the Burger Law team worked with Randy and aggressively pursued the liable party. After the initial claim adjuster refused to offer the policy limits, we filed suit, and pressed the defendant further, revealing more insurance than was initially disclosed during the discovery process.
I told them I would never take less than policy limits for Randy and they recently relented.
We will put a lot in Randy’s pocket with this and will now pursue his underinsured claim. Stay tuned.