Law Offices of Justin R. Heim APCResults matter and we prove it!
We are proud to announce a $1,250,000 personal injury settlement. This personal injury claim involved a client who required spine surgery after a car accident case with minor property damage.
Before retaining our law firm, a nationally known personal injury firm got our client a $3,000 offer. They dropped and told her they could never prove her personal injury case. Specifically, they said the low visible property damage and personal injury history made the case impossible!
This settlement provides our client with more than 416 times what a billboard firm initially obtained for them!
Facts of the Crash
This incident involved a rear-end collision in a parking lot located in Los Angeles County. Our client had been waiting to pick up their child from school in the designated area. Suddenly, our client felt a jolt from behind that shook her whole car. The impact cracked the rear bumper of our client’s vehicle.
During litigation, the Defendant testified that the impact occurred at less than 2 – 3 miles per hour. She further stated that she had simply lifted her foot off her brake pedal and accidentally rolled into our client. Defendant’s testimony was not consistent with the minimal, but still very visible, damage to our client’s car. We knew we caught the Defendant in a lie.
Personal Injuries Caused by the Car Accident
Our client suffered severe neck pain several days after her car accident. Within days she reported to a local urgent care and orthopedic surgeon. Both recommended that she take some time to rest before beginning physical therapy. Unfortunately, an MRI scan revealed several herniated discs in our client’s neck a month later.
Diagnosis of the herniated discs in our client’s neck led to an extensive course of conservative medical care. In addition to physical therapy, our client was prescribed acupuncture and pain management injections. After each of these treatments did not resolve her pain, her doctors told her that she would require spine surgery.
Her doctors explained to her that there were two different types of spine surgery they could try. Her options were spinal fusion or disc replacement.
According to the Mayo Clinic, spinal fusion involves connecting two vertebrae and eliminating the motion between them. Doctors start by removing bone spurs and the disc material between the vertebrae. They then replace the impacted disc with a bone graft. Once completed, the surgeon connects the two vertebrae with metal rods and screws to stabilize them.
Artificial disc replacement can be an alternative to spinal fusion when surgery is necessary. According to Spine.MD, “the main difference between disc replacement and spinal fusion is the mobility of the spine after surgery.” Our client felt this was the best approach for her, and she elected to undergo cervical disc replacement surgery.
How We Made the Difference – $1,250,000 Settlement on $3,000 Initial Offer!
Our client retained our office once it became clear that her former attorneys would not be able to get fair value for the injuries and medical bills she sustained. We immediately knew that the defense would treat this as a minor impact soft tissue (MIST) case. The defense used the pictures showing minimal property damage to our client’s vehicle every chance they could. The car accident did not injure our client according to the defense! The Defendant lied about the severity of the impact, and we could prove it.
We first suspected that the Defendant had lied in her deposition when we saw the cracked bumper on our client’s car. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has outlined that the “zero damage” standards outlined in 49 CFR 581 govern bumper damage in a car accident. If the rear-end accident happened the way Defendant claimed, then our client’s vehicle should not have sustained nearly as much damage as it did.
Our office examined the Defendant’s vehicle Event Data Recorder. What we found proved that the Defendant had lied. The Event Data Recorder revealed that the Defendant had accelerated before impact. She hit our client hard enough that roll-over data registered on the Defendant’s vehicle. This car accident was no minor impact, and we had the proof.
Once we had this information, and after our client’s credibility became apparent, the defense was over.
If You Have Been Wrongfully Injured, Contact a Local Personal Injury Lawyer Right Away!
If you have been injured as a result of a car accident, call a California car accident lawyer right away. Make sure that you gather the contact information from as many witnesses as you can find.
No one article can cover everything that people should know after a personal injury. Additionally, personal injury law presents unique legal challenges.
We recommend that you contact a personal injury lawyer before speaking to an insurance adjuster, or filing a claim. Filing an insurance claim for personal injuries without consulting an attorney, could result in an adjuster attempting to use your statements against you.
There are many local Long Beach, Seal Beach, and Huntington Beach personal injury lawyers and car accident attorneys. Lawyers who regularly practice in this field of law should be able to help, and will likely offer you a free consultation.
Don’t let an insurance company lowball your demand for reimbursement of medical expenses, lost wages, or pain and suffering. Ensure that you receive full justice for your insurance claims!
The information contained in this post is for general information purposes only. Nothing on this post, or website, should be taken as legal advice for any individual or case situation. This information is not intended to create, and receipt or viewing does not constitute an attorney-client relationship.
Contact us If you have lost a loved one or have pain and suffering from a personal injury. For more information, visit our car accidents page and slip and fall accidents page. For a free consultation, please reach out to our attorneys to arrange a time to discuss your case.
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Law Offices of Justin R. Heim, APC
Law Offices of Justin R. Heim APC
Law Offices of Justin R. Heim APC