$1,190,000 Jury Verdict – Auto Accident Injury
The attorneys of Shiver Hamilton Campbell work tirelessly to achieve fair financial outcomes for people who have suffered due to the negligence of others. The firm successfully represented a hard-working 46-yr-old immigrant from Thailand who suffered a car accident injury in 2016. Penny Bangrukkit, who worked as a server at Malaya, a popular Thai restaurant in the Buckhead neighborhood of Atlanta, was returning from a visit with a friend to exchange homemade food. She was stopped at a red light on Marietta Street in Atlanta, Georgia when her vehicle was struck by a 26-yr-old driver who had been drinking and was taking friends home. He miscalculated his left turn and smashed into Penny’s vehicle, totaling it and severely injuring Penny.
Common Car Accident Injuries
Penny suffered severe injuries. Her neck was fractured in two places and she had to spend two days in Grady Hospital in downtown Atlanta. She reported little or no pain to doctors at the time, but later developed symptoms. An MRI detected two herniated discs, which her doctor attributed to the wreck. Her medical team advised to have surgery to repair the herniated discs, but Penny refused. She didn’t want surgery. She felt she could handle the pain and wanted to go back to work.
Penny was clearly entitled to compensation. If another motorist breaks a rule of the road or is careless and causes injury in an accident, the person who is injured has a legal claim against the other driver’s insurance company. Shiver Hamilton Campbell dedicates whatever resources are necessary to achieve fair financial results for people who have suffered injury through the negligence of others in an Atlanta Georgia car accident.
Car Accident Case Process
The attorneys of Shiver Hamilton Campbell know how to protect the interests of their clients in car accident cases. They act quickly to collect all the information necessary to maximize settlements and jury verdicts. They collect police and accident scene reports and question witnesses. They take photographs of the scene, vehicle damage, and injuries in order to reconstruct the accident scene. They routinely consult with law enforcement, physicians, rehabilitation planners, and other experts necessary to prepare successful cases for trial.
Shiver Hamilton Campbell only takes on serious car accident injury cases. They understand how difficult it can be for people like Penny, who have been injured in an auto accident, to secure fair compensation for their losses. The process can be complicated and disorienting for those who have been injured and they may not realize the extent of the damages they are entitled to.
There are two classes of damages which may apply in an auto accident injury case. The first are compensatory, or economic, damages that the victim suffers. Medical expenses such as hospitalization, surgery, emergency room visits and assistive devices add up quickly. Many injuries require extensive treatment over long periods of time. Any settlement with an insurance company must account for these long-term expenses. Car accident victims can also seek compensation for lost wages. Some injuries also diminish the capacity for future earnings.
Non-economic damages compensate victims for the ways their quality of life is diminished by their injuries. These include pain and suffering caused by the accident as well as any mental anguish caused. Injuries can be traumatic and difficult to recover from. Punitive damages may be in order as well, in cases where the behavior of the defendant is especially egregious or as a deterrent to discourage a defendant from the same sort of behavior in the future.
Shiver Hamilton Campbell brings compassion and zeal to every case. They dedicate whatever resources are necessary to make sure clients are treated fairly and that justice is done. They know there is more at stake than just a legal judgement, that clients often need counsel across a range of problems and issues that go beyond the particulars of their case. They value the people they represent as deserving of justice and respect.
The lawyers of Shiver Hamilton Campbell also prepare all their cases to go to trial, alerting insurance companies and corporate defendants that they won’t settle for anything less than full justice for their clients. Preparing the case for trial is the only way to consistently achieve the best outcomes. Opposing counsel must know that Shiver Hamilton Campbell’s clients are represented by skilled and experienced trial lawyers with all the necessary legal resources to win jury judgements.
How to Communicate With Insurance Companies
Shiver Hamilton Campbell’s team did thorough investigative work to demonstrate the scope of Penny’s injuries and the likely difficulties they would pose for her over the rest of her life. It was clear that the other driver was entirely at fault and that opposing counsel was just trying to help the other driver’s insurance company avoid paying Penny a fair settlement for her injuries.
Both the insurance company representing the drunk driver and Shiver Hamilton Campbell made offers to settle the case, but no agreement could be reached. The insurance company, based on Penny’s reluctance to have surgery and miss further work, claimed they should not be liable for potential future medical costs that might never occur. They offered $75K, an amount based on Penny’s actual medical bills to that point, not including what they considered speculative future medical treatments. Penny’s injuries were not speculative. Shiver Hamilton Campbell refused.
Contact an Atlanta Car Accident Lawyer
Shiver Hamilton Campbell, in consultation with their client, also refused a subsequent offer to settle for $250K. The insurance company made a third offer of $500K, which the attorneys of Shiver Hamilton Campbell also counseled Penny to refuse. Shiver Hamilton Campbell did, however, counter with an offer to settle the case for $550K, which the insurance company refused. The case went to the jury, which sided with Penny after a two-day trial, and awarded a verdict of $1.19 million as well as punitive damages, which will deter the insurance company from trying to avoid paying injured people like Penny the damages they are entitled to in the future. Penny’s financial future is secure.
