A man is late for a delivery for his employer. He is in a hurry. He comes to a metered intersection. He needs to turn left. The light turns green, but he must yield to oncoming traffic. Impatient because he is late for a work assignment, he guns the accelerator and turns left as soon there is a gap in the oncoming traffic.
Meanwhile, another man is walking his customary route to work, leaving plenty early so as to arrive timely as usual. He comes to a marked and metered crosswalk in a well-lit area. He waits until he has the walk signal, then steps out into the crosswalk. When he is about a quarter the way across he is startled to hear and see a large vehicle charging directly at him.
With no time to get out of the way, the left-turning vehicle strikes the pedestrian hard. The impact catapults the pedestrian thirty feet. His glasses and even his shoes are knocked off. The pedestrian suffers serious injuries and is rushed to the emergency room. He will endure months of medical treatment and rehabilitation to get his body and life back to semi-normal.
Instead of doing the right thing, the driver’s insurance blames the pedestrian. The insurance company claims the innocent pedestrian was wearing clothing that was “too dark.” He was simply wearing a common type jacket and jeans.
The insurance company tried to avoid paying the claim, then offered only $8,000–an amount that would not even cover the pedestrian’s medical bills.
The pedestrian then contacted our office. We ultimately settled the case for over $62,000.
Insurance companies often treat people unfairly, even if they are seriously injured by someone else’s carelessness and through no fault of their own.
Contact our office for a free personal injury case evaluation.