Dwyer Williams Cherkoss PC recently settled a rear-end collision case whose details were all too familiar. A passenger was sitting in an idling car at a red traffic light when that vehicle was abruptly struck from behind by another motorist. While the two drivers emerged from this accident unscathed, the passenger in the idling vehicle sustained serious physical injuries.
Our client had several preexisting health issues that were all affected by the collision. However, when our client approached the reckless driver’s insurance provider to be reimbursed for the medical expenses she incurred as a direct result of the accident, she came away empty-handed. The insurance carrier presented a two-pronged explanation of why it would not pay for our client’s cost of care: first, that the collision could not be the direct cause of our client’s injuries because damage to the vehicles involved was inexpensive and relatively minor; and second, that our client’s injuries were preexisting conditions and as such were not covered by their policy.
As experienced auto accident attorneys, Dwyer Williams Cherkoss PC recognized the fallacies in the insurance company’s position. The extent of damage to vehicles involved in a collision does not have a direct or measurable correlation to the extent of the damage sustained by human beings within the cars. Our client was at increased risk of getting hurt in any collision, regardless of the magnitude of impact or the extent of damage to cars, because of her preexisting health issues. That stated, our client’s injuries cannot be conflated with her preexisting issues: they were far more serious. Our client’s medical records and history made it amply clear that the auto accident aggravated her pre-existing conditions and brought her increased pain and suffering.
We presented this line of thinking to the insurance provider, as well as hard evidence underlying it in the form of medical records and the testimony of our client’s physicians. These medical professionals all vowed that the accident worsened our client’s afflictions and that it should be considered the cause of her post-collision pain and suffering. After several rounds of negotiation, armed with this evidence, we were able to get a favorable and fair settlement offer for our client from the insurance carrier. Her injuries were not simply pre-existing conditions and they were proximately caused by the reckless driver who hit the vehicle in which our client was riding. Our client was pleased with the settlement offer and with her choice of Dwyer Williams Cherkoss PC in this matter requiring car injury specialists.