A 50 Year-old-Single Mother Involved in a Three Car/SUV Collision
In March 2017, Elliot J. Sokoloff, Esq. was able to settle an automobile accident case/personal injury claim arising from a 2016 crash where a vehicle hit his client’s SUV with her SUV on the passenger side of her car while having the right-of-way with such force as to catapult her vehicle as a projectile into oncoming traffic across the divided median into a third SUV driving in the opposite direction in front of her causing corresponding significant property damage as well as resultant bodily injury from both impacts.
The vehicle that caused the collision presumably left a shopping center and proceeded to cross 3 lanes of traffic before colliding into our client causing her to be catapulted across to oncoming traffic thus causing our client to sustain not one, but two distinct impacts with other motor vehicles.
It was later learned that the force of the impacts was claimed by the driver of a 3rd vehicle to have caused her to suffer a miscarriage early in her pregnancy.
Our client was treated on the scene by Palm Beach County Fire Rescue and then sought Emergency Room treatment immediately following the collision, being taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital. The bill for that Emergency Room treatment alone was nearly $41,000.00.
The client only had $10,000.00 in PIP/No-Fault Benefits with a $1,000.00 deductible. As a secondary insurer, she did have health insurance, but did not maintain uninsured motorist (UM)/underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage.
Our client treated via diagnostic scans, a cervical MRI revealing disc injuries, another MRI of her right shoulder determined that she was in imminent need of right shoulder surgery (she had a complete tear in the right shoulder revealed by another MR scan—she is also right-handed).
She continued with orthopedic care as well as supervised chiropractic treatment.
An early demand in the midst of our client’s medical treatment prompted the insurer to give the matter to defense counsel to see if a pre-suit mediation can be scheduled to settle the cases/claims immediately, thus putting Mr. Sokoloff on notice.
After preparing a summary demand along with supporting materials regarding our client’s ongoing treatment and scheduled shoulder surgery, as well as several supplements to same and discussions with defense counsel as well as other competing plaintiff’s counsel, it was agreed a day before the scheduled mediation that the insurer would pay out its BI policy limits $100,000.00 per person/$200,000.00 per accident policy with $100,000.00 going to our client and the other $100,000.00 to be divided among the several claimants in the other vehicle.
Please contact Sokoloff & Weinstein for more information on automobile accident.
