Settlement in Excess of a Driver’s Insurance Policy
Adeszko Abate & Green obtains $230,000 Settlement for a client injured inured in a car accident where the wrongdoer was forced to pay $130,000 out of his own pocket.
The unfortunate reality is that the recovery for severely injured clients is typically limited by the extent of the available insurance coverage. Personal auto insurance limits for individuals are rarely sufficient to compensate victims with significant injuries. This is why we often recommend our friends and clients obtain high underinsured limits or even underinsured umbrellas. See our blog on underinsured claims here.
When underinsured coverage is not available the recovery for an injury victim is usually limited to the insurance coverage. The process of collecting above and beyond the insurance limits requires the time and expense of not only going to trial and obtaining a judgment, but also executing and collecting the judgment. This is a process that can take many years with significant costs. It is rarely in the client’s interest to go through this process, as it typically does not result in any additional net recovery for the injury victim. 80 percent of judgments are never collected. This is because most individuals do not have extensive liquid funds to pay a judgment, and if the judgment is significant, they typically have the option to file bankruptcy and avoid having to pay the judgment.
Due to the difficulty in obtaining and collecting above and beyond the insurance coverage, most law firms will not even explore the possibility of doing so. Adeszko Abate & Green performs its due diligence in investigating the liable party and obtaining affidavits regarding insurance or filing a lawsuit when necessary because these options should be explored in the proper prosecution of any claim. We recently reached a settlement above and beyond the policy limits on behalf of our injured client. The available insurance was only $100,000, but we secured AND collected a $230,000 settlement on behalf of our client. Most personal injury attorneys will go their entire career without ever collecting a judgment or settlement above and beyond the policy limits, and if they do, it’s usually a nominal amount for a few thousand dollars.
How did we obtain this result for our client? Early on in the case, when we realized our client was significantly injured and would need multiple surgeries, we began to investigate the wrongdoer. Based on our investigation as to property he owned, his job and his hobbies and activities on social and other media, we believed that he would likely have very high insurance limits and umbrella coverage. We were shocked when his insurance company disclosed that he only had lower limits of $100,000. We filed a lawsuit and deposed the wrongdoer and confirmed his insurance limits were only $100,000. We sent a settlement demand to the wrongdoer for well in excess of the insurance limits, and when they predictably offered the full policy limits to settle the case, we refused. We then made it clear that we were prepared to go to trial, obtain a significant judgment and execute the judgment against his personal assets. This was easy for us to say, because that is absolutely what we intended to do. We obtained experts to maximize the value of our client’s claim and dotted all of our i’s and crossed our t’s. The wrongdoer realized that we were serious and one of the few attorneys who were willing to take this matter to its final conclusion. As a result, the wrongdoer proposed a settlement conference with the judge.
In preparation for the conference, we worked with additional consultants obtaining updated information about the wrongdoer’s assets, the mortgages on his property and the sale prices of his prior properties. We had also found evidence that he was actively trying to hide or move assets to make himself judgment proof. Shortly before the conference, we provided the wrongdoer will all of the information we found about his assets and attempts to transfer them, so that he knew he could not walk in to the conference claiming that he had no money. Ultimately, the judge was able to mediate the matter and the parties agreed to a $230,000 settlement that included the wrongdoer paying $130,000 out of his own pocket. This is a settlement that is almost unheard of in this practice and shows the length that Adeszko Abate and Green is willing to go to in order to obtain the best results for their clients.