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ELPO wins settlement for plaintiff in truck case
by Mandy Hicks
Our firm often represents plaintiffs injured in car, truck or tractor-trailer accidents. The injuries from these accidents can be catastrophic or event fatal. The damage to vehicles is often very costly.
Almost everyone has to deal with the results of a traffic wreck at some point. How you handle it can determine much about your financial future. If you accept the first settlement offered by an insurance company, you’re giving up your rights to examine the case, and your rights to fight for payment for the health care you’ll receive and compensation for lost wages and other issues that may result from the accident. In fact, taking some time to let an attorney examine your case gives you time, too, to see how extensive recovery will be from your accident and helps you better negotiate for compensation for the physical problems you may experience down the road that aren’t evident initially.
While motor vehicle accidents are common, what’s not common are attorneys who know how to best handle an accident case and how to effectively fight for the rights of a plaintiff in the case. That’s what we do, and this case is a great example of how hiring experienced attorneys can make a big difference in an accident case.
In this case, the client we represented was a recent college graduate on his way to work when he was rear-ended by a dump truck. Our client was traveling north on Natcher Parkway in Bowling Green, Kentucky, where our firm is located. Our client saw an accident in the southbound lanes, the opposite side of the road from where he was traveling, and slowed down in anticipation of offering aid to those injured. The other accident caused several passengers to be ejected from vehicles. They were in dire need of medical attention. The dump truck driver did not slow down and rear-ended our client, who was then himself injured and unable to help anyone else. The defendant, the dump truck driver, told police that the plaintiff slammed on his breaks suddenly and caused the accident. The plaintiff, as a result of the impact, could not recall any details. ELPO hired a team of experts and accident reconstructionists to prove the plaintiff was not at fault.
ELPO had its experts download the information from the “black box” on the plaintiff’s car to demonstrate how fast he was traveling prior to the accident and when the plaintiff applied his breaks. Beginning in 1996, automobiles were equipped with such devices to monitor and record important data prior to and after a collision. After limited discovery was conducted, it was discovered the dump truck driver had violated several Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations and had caused the accident. The defense paid a significant settlement to the plaintiff.
In many cases, it is tempting for motorists involved in an accident to take the first settlement offered by an insurance company. We advise anyone involved in an accident not to sign anything from an insurance company until they have spoken with a lawyer. In this case, we were happy to help this young man move forward with his life without a black mark against him and his driving record, and help him gain the funding he needed to compensate for his injuries.
If you need the assistance of an attorney following a car, truck or tractor-trailer accident, please consider us. You can reach our experienced team at (270) 781-6500 or contact us online here.
