Car and Truck Accident Recent Cases

Posted on by David G. Hughes

In January, 2015, I resolved an automobile accident claim for the negligent driver’s $100,000.00 policy limits.  Our client suffered numerous sprain and strain injuries and also suffered a torn rotator cuff requiring shoulder surgery as a result of the accident.  After months of negotiation, the negligent driver’s insurance company offered the $100,000.00 policy limits, and I am now pursuing our client’s underinsured motorist coverage in an effort to obtain additional damages on her behalf.

I also recently settled another automobile accident claim this month for the negligent driver’s $50,000.00 policy limits.  Our client suffered an injury to her hip requiring surgery and missed many days from work as a result of her injuries and ultimate hip surgery.  I am now pursuing an underinsured motorist claim on behalf of our client in an effort to obtain additional damages on her behalf for medical bills, lost wages, past, present and future suffering, and potential for future medical care.

If you or your family member has been in an automobile or truck accident, please do not hesitate to call us at 314-241-4477 so we can provide a thorough investigation of your possible case and work to recover on your behalf.

 

 

St. Louis Car Accident Case Settled for $800,000

Posted on by David G. Hughes

I recently settled a St. Louis County Circuit Court automobile accident case for $800,000.00.  After 2 ½ years of litigation and numerous depositions of fact and expert witnesses, the case was resolved on the first day of trial after various Motions were presented and ruled upon by the trial Judge.  My client’s vehicle was struck by another vehicle while stopped in traffic on Highway 270 in St Louis County. The Plaintiff suffered a broken pelvis and post-traumatic stress disorder.  As a result of the injuries related to the car accident, she lost the job she loved as a nurse and was unable to return to nursing.  While many defense attorneys and insurance companies often argue that St. Louis County Circuit Court is a “conservative venue”, our client was extremely happy with the hard work of her attorney and the ultimate outcome.

Mogab & Hughes Attorneys, P.C. have more than fifty years of experience with car accident cases.  Please call me at 314-241-4477.

INSURANCE COMPANY OFFERS $750, WE SETTLE FOR $50,000

Posted on by Thomas Gregory

I was representing a client in two worker’s compensation claims against the same employer, one involving her right shoulder and the other involving her low back.  The employer-insurer provided treatment and it was determined that no surgery was necessary and the client was released to return to work at full duty at her regular job.

On her first morning back to work after being released by the worker’s compensation doctor, while attempting to make a left turn into the plant where she was employed, she was struck from the rear by another vehicle, and she alleged that she re-injured her low back.  Since she was not yet on the job, worker’s compensation would not cover her injury, and therefore, she looked to the driver of the vehicle that struck her from behind for compensation for her injuries.  My client received a letter from the claims adjuster for State Farm Insurance Company, which insured the vehicle that struck her, which stated as follows: “Based on the documentation you have provided, we have extended an offer of settlement of $750.00.”  Attached to the offer was a copy of a photograph of the rear of plaintiff’s vehicle taken by State Farm which basically showed no damage at all to my client’s vehicle.  State Farm took the position that this was a low speed, low impact collision with little or no damage to the client’s vehicle.  The letter also pointed out that since the client had just been released from treatment for her low back injury, it was State Farm’s position that no new injury had occurred.

I agreed to represent my worker’s compensation client in her claim against the other driver and immediately filed a lawsuit in the Circuit Court of St. Louis County, where the accident occurred.  I alleged in my lawsuit that the MRI of my client’s low back taken before the accident showed a bulging disc at the L4-5 level from the work-related injury and an MRI of my client’s low back taken after the accident showed that the low speed, low impact collision caused the bulging disc to progress into a herniated disc.  The insurance company’s expert witness orthopedic surgeon opined that the MRI performed before the accident and the MRI performed after the accident were exactly the same and showed no new injury and that the rear-end collision caused my client to sustain only a minor strain, which should have cleared up within about six weeks.  All of the doctors agreed that the plaintiff was not a candidate for low back surgery because the disc was not causing any impingement on a nerve root.

After depositions of the doctors were taken and as the trial date was approaching, the case, which originated with a $750.00 offer from State Farm, was ultimately settled for my client for the amount of $50,000.00, which was the policy limits of State Farm’s insured driver.  In addition, I obtained additional settlements in my client’s two worker’s compensation claims totaling $28,626.00, for a total recovery in all of her claims in the amount of $78,626.00.

If you have been injured in a workers compensation or other accident and would like to speak with an experienced attorney, please call Thomas Gregory at Mogab & Hughes Attorneys at 314-241-4477.