Joy Ride Car Accident Settlement
A case which we settled in 2011 was reported in the Pennsylvania Jury Verdict Review & Analysis. This publication reports interesting jury verdicts and settlements there each month in Pennsylvania.
In our case, the plaintiff, age 20, and the defendant were attending a party together in Chester County when the defendant asked if anyone would like to take a ride in his new Ford Mustang. The plaintiff was a backseat passenger in the vehicle when it crashed into a tree. The defendant driver tendered a $15,000 liability policy limit and the case continued against the underinsured motorist carrier, which had issued coverage to the plaintiff.
Plaintiff was diagnosed with a complex laceration of his ankle. He exhibited a jagged scar across the top of his foot. He also lost some flexion of the foot as a result of the injury. The laceration narrowly missed the tendon in the plaintiff’s foot and, therefore, no operation was needed to repair the tendon.
The case was settled with both the defendant driver and the underinsured motorist carrier in just over a year after the car accident, and without the necessity of filing a lawsuit. To maximize the recovery, we prepared a comprehensive settlement package which included graphic photographs of the injury, detailed medical expenses, expert reports and a witness list. The case was settled for $235,000.
Steve Karp
