Please note that the purpose of sharing the following information is to show you the extent of my experience in maximizing the value of personal injury cases that involve severe injuries, high damages, and complicated facts. No two cases are ever the same, so this is no indication of what you are going to get in your case -- it is to show you that if you hire us, you are going to get a competent, experienced attorney who knows how to take care of your business. Most of the cases below refer to "available policy limits." Depending on the extent of your injuries, and the degree to which the defendant is liable, or "at fault" for your injuries, we always like to aim for the maximum amount of money that can be obtained for your case. Unfortunately, the law requires an automobile to have only $25,000.00 in liability coverage, even though a serious car wreck can easily result in hundreds of thousands of dollars, and even millions of dollars, in damages to you or your loved ones.
Truck Wreck - failure to yield right of way, Mitchell County, Georgia (2010)
A truck driver ran through a red light, killing the father of two teenagers. My team's diligent efforts uncovered evidence of the driver's marijuana use, leading to a $6 million policy limits settlement in early litigation.
Automobile Wreck - failure to yield right of way, Grady County, Georgia (2008)
A distracted driver ran a stop sign, crashing into my 36-year-old client and disabling him. The negligent driver's insurance company paid a $1.25 million pre-suit, policy limits demand to avoid excess liability.
Automobile Wreck - failure to yield right-of-way, Grady County, Georgia (2011)
A $250,000.00 settlement for five-times the available policy limits. We made a pre-suit demand for available policy limits that was rejected by the defendant's insurance company. We then refused the insurance company's settlement offers until it offered an acceptable amount on the eve of trial.
Defective Attic Ladder, United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia (2009)
An international ladder manufacturer paid a confidential settlement on the eve of trial. The company's shoddy manufacturing process left a rung poorly aligned between an attic ladder's rails. My client, an electrical contractor lost his balance, fell, and suffered serious injuries.
Automobile / Farm Equipment Wreck, Mitchell County, Georgia (2006)
A $250,000.00 pre-suit settlement for policy limits against a farmer and his employee. The farm worker lost control of a trailer he was towing on a rural highway. The trailer crashed into a pickup driven by my client's 56-year-old father. My client's father was killed, and the farm worker's blood tested positive for cocaine. The insurance company paid its policy limits to avoid excess liability against the farmer when we made a time-limited demand.
Carroll v. Thomas, et al., Thomas County, Georgia, Superior Court (2009)
A $250,000.00 verdict against a log truck driver who drove heedlessly into an intersection, striking a left-turning mini-van and killing a 32-year-old mother. Because of perceived difficulties with liability, the truck driver's insurance offered only $10,000.00 prior to trial.
Automobile Wreck - failure to yield right of way, Circuit Court Orange County Florida (2008)
A $235,000.00 settlement prior to trial for a Disney cast-member in Orlando, Florida. My client's legs were severely injured when a negligent driver ran a red light and crashed into her in an intersection.
Truck Wreck - failure to yield right-of-way and blocking intersection, Grady County, Georgia (2011)
A $175,000.00 settlement against a trucking concern that attempted and failed to make a tight turn on a rural county road. The client was elderly with poor eye-sight. The defendant denied liability, but the defendant's insurance company ultimately paid the full value of the case at mediation.
Workplace Injury - failure to train and provide proper safety equipment, Thomas County, Georgia (2011)
A $150,000.00 settlement against an employer whose failure to train an employee and provide proper safety equipment resulted in the amputation of two fingers. The "exclusive remedy" provisions of workers compensation law normally makes personal injury claims against employers impossible. In most workplace injury cases, injured workers' recoveries are limited to workers compensation benefits, which are typically small in comparison to the damages that are available in personal injury cases. In this case, the employer ran a farming operation, which was excluded from the protection workers compensation law gives employers. This employer could have "opted-in" to the workers compensation system by buying workers compensation insurance, but he did not. We convinced the employer's general liability carrier that we would show that the employer was at fault for his employee's injury, and negotiated a settlement based on our client's actual damages.
Automobile Wreck - failure to maintain lane, Mitchell County, Georgia (2011)
A $125,000.00 settlement for the available policy limits, including uninsured motorist coverage, against a driver who ran off the road, severely injuring my client who was sitting at the exit of a business driveway.
Automobile Wreck - failure to yield right of way, Decatur County, Georgia (2011)
A $100,000.00 settlement for the available policy limits against a driver who ran a red-light, severely injuring the mother of a young child.
