The law provides that a wrongdoer must take responsibility for injuries he inflicts on others. A wrongdoer must compensate a person he injures.
Most people and businesses carry insurance for this sort of thing. In a perfect world, the insurance company representing a wrongdoer would make every effort to compensate the injured person for his losses. Unfortunately, we do not live in a perfect world.
Consider, for instance, the case of John Dyer*. John was a 39-year-old UPS driver who injured his lower back when a rotten step broke out from under him. He could no longer meet the lifting requirements of UPS. After being out of work for months, he found a new job as a pest control driver but took a $20,000 per year pay cut. He and his wife had to sell their house.
We filed suit against the owner of the property on which the rotten step was located. Despite the total lack of fault on Mr. Dyer's part, and the devastating impact of the incident on his life, the insurance company ridiculed his claim because he had suffered only a "soft tissue" injury.
At the Court-ordered settlement conference, the company offered Mr. Dyer a mere $30,000. Only after a jury ordered the company to pay in excess of $325,000 did Mr. Dyer obtain adequate compensation for his losses.
Not all cases must be tried. In fact, the great majority are not. Our staff is expert at gathering the necessary medical records, photographs, and other documentation for an insurance company to properly evaluate a claim. Especially when limited insurance coverage is involved, we often are able to resolve claims quickly.
We know, however, that insurance companies negotiate fairly and responsibly with us because of our ability to successfully try a case before a jury.
* Not his real name.