Philadelphia Car and Truck Accident Lawyer Blog

Our Philadelphia car accident lawyers needed to go the extra mile to win a substantial settlement for an injured client with a problem history. The client was standing on the corner when the defendant driver failed to stop for a stop sign, went through the intersection striking another car lawfully in the intersection. The struck vehicle was spun around and pushed to the corner where the young woman was standing, Witnesses at the scene indicated that she was thrown “at least 50 feet” to the sidewalk. Semi-conscious and in severe pain the young African-American woman was taken immediately by ambulance to the local hospital, where she underwent open reduction internal fixation surgery of her right wrist. Right knee injuries, in addition to the severe wrist fracture, included a complete tear of the anterior and posterior cruciate ligament and sprain of the medial collateral ligament. Additionally, she sustained a compression trauma to her chest with suspected rib fractures, multiple abrasions and contusions with the eventual development of “fat necrosis, secondary to trauma” established by examination and mammography after follow-up.

A physical and occupational therapy disability examination six months later, which was performed by a physician retained by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, reported that she had not been able to retain function in her right hand with loss of range of motion of her fingers, joints and wrist. The right knee swelling at times made it difficult for her to walk any distance. Because of the discomfort, she has discomfort doing computer work which she had done in the past.

Yet before coming to our Philadelphia injury attorneys she was not offered a fair settlement. How and why would defense counsel refuse to negotiate a fair settlement in light of the foregoing facts?

Despite her serious injuries, plaintiff, because of a prior criminal conviction for drug-related offenses was sent to prison for a number of years. Insurance defense attorneys were only willing to make a nominal offer that after liens, costs, reimbursement to the State for medical expenses would leave this young woman, after her incarceration was completed, literally, with next to nothing. When her prior lawyer recommended she accept the settlement, plaintiff who was at the time incarcerated, had her family contact the Philadelphia car accident attorneys at PP&L to see if something could be done?

After a review of the underlying facts presented by the family, PP&L took on the responsibility to revisit all the circumstances of the situation and realized that the plaintiff needed to be personalized rather than just being looked at as a laundry list of injuries. Personal and phone contacts were initiated with the new client; contact with prison authorities and social workers all were undertaken to get a personal and real picture of the person. Extensive interviews with the family about the Plaintiff's background and the circumstances that lead up to her societal problems enabled the firm to prepare a trial strategy that would be formidable.

Our injury lawyers then presented to the defense at a non-binding mediation, what explanations would soften and explain the plaintiff's prior behavior at a jury trial. The strategy was to show a more sympathetic and deserving person, that a jury would be willing to award a fair amount of money, to help start the plaintiff on a new life. When the defense saw what our Philadelphia car accident attorneys had done up to that point, the offers to settle began to increase and finally reached a level where the plaintiff and counsel decided that going to a courtroom, though the case was prepared to do exactly that, was too risky to bring in a county court where verdicts were hard to come by. Plaintiff now with a sizeable offer accepted the settlement.