A PERSONAL INJURY SUCCESS STORY
Bradley Devitt Haas & Watkins, P.C., successfully prosecuted another plaintiff’s personal injury case in Jefferson County District Court. The attorney who tried the case was Jon Bradley.
Our client sustained personal injuries when the vehicle he was driving was struck from the rear by a vehicle driven by the defendant, a friend of his. Both drivers were high school students and were good friends when the accident occurred. The plaintiff, who was 18 at the time, was a high school athlete. The defendant admitted liability for the rear-end collision but disputed the accident was the cause of our client’s injuries and damages, and disputed the extent of the claimed injuries and damages.
Our client suffered soft-tissue injuries to the neck and spine, chronic headaches, vertigo, nausea, sleep disturbance and neck and shoulder pain. As a result of the accident, he missed the opportunity to compete his senior season as a track athlete. His hopes for a Division 1 college scholarship as a hurdler were dashed because of injuries sustained in the auto collision. He estimated that a scholarship was valued at $40,000. His past medical expenses were $23,701.92. In closing argument, our client requested $173,100 for pain and suffering and noneconomic losses.
The last settlement demand from our client was for the limits of the automobile insurance policy, $100,000. The final offer from the insurance company for the defendant was $35,000.
After considering all the testimony and the arguments of the attorneys, the jury returned a verdict in favor of our client in the amounts of $173,100 for noneconomic losses, $23,701.92 for economic losses and $18,500 for physical impairment, for a total award of $215,301.92 plus statutory interest from the date of the accident.
We were adamant, as was as our client, that the value of the case exceeded the defendant’s policy limits. Because our client had agreed to accept the policy limits, which the insurance company previously refused to pay, the insurance company paid the entire judgment amount plus interest.
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To learn more about how our experience can help in your case, please call our Golden, Colorado, office at 303-384-9228.