$500k Settlement Alert

The Hughes & Coleman Injury Lawyers team recently successfully obtained a $500,000 settlement for a 21 year-old client in Bowling Green, KY involved in a hit and run collision.

When walking responsibly along our local roadways, citizens should have a sense of safety. Pedestrians should not have to be worried about the possibility of being struck by a vehicle. However, for this client, he will be apprehensive about that for the rest of his life.

Hit and Run

Late one Sunday night, our client was taking an evening walk along a local, public roadway with one of his friends. They were walking peacefully down the side of the road, when a passing vehicle suddenly and without warning struck our client, throwing him down an embankment and into a drainage ditch. After the impact, the driver (who would eventually become the defendant in our lawsuit against him) immediately fled the scene.

Due to the injuries sustained from the impact, our client was quickly transported to the Medical Center at Bowling Green via ambulance and then life-flighted to Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Upon arrival, he received a full battery of diagnostic tests in effort to diagnose the multiple injuries he sustained in the collision.  After many tests, our client was diagnosed with a right scapular fracture (right shoulder), a left pulmonary contusion (bruise on left lung), and a displaced left femur fracture. Within a couple of hours, he was taken into surgery for his broken leg, where a rod and screws were placed to stabilize the femur and close the fracture. After the recovery period lapsed from the surgery, he was discharged and advised next steps of treatment.

With multiple EMS transportations, scans, x-rays, surgery, and treatment/recovery plans – it should come as no surprise that this preventable collision immediately put a financial burden on our client. He could barely walk and couldn’t work, so how was he going to pay the bills incurred due to the defendant’s negligence?

The Defendant

While our client was undergoing surgery and treatment, the Bowling Green Police Department got to work on their investigation to determine who the defendant was that fled the scene. Within a couple hours of the collision, they received a call from Kentucky State Police advising that they had received multiple tips from people alerting them of an individual who was calling around telling people he thought he had hit someone while driving earlier in the night. The KSP gave the BGPD a name, which after further investigation, was determined to be the defendant.

After receiving the name, the BGPD traveled to the defendant’s house to speak with him. It was obvious to the officer speaking with him that he was under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs, and was immediately taken into custody. The vehicle involved in the hit and run was also parked behind the residence and was a missing side mirror, just like the one found at the scene.

We Took Over

Two days after the collision, our client’s mother reached out to our team at Hughes and Coleman to explain what happened and see what we could to do to help. After hearing the horror story of what her son had to deal with, we signed up his case and got to work gathering medical bills, the police report, and all types of evidence to make sure we could prove he deserved compensation due to the negligence of the defendant.  Our attorneys and investigators quickly and thoroughly investigated the circumstances of the collision, and put the defendant’s insurance company on notice.

Three months after the incident, our client received a low-ball settlement offer of $272,000 from the defendant’s insurance company. After reviewing the offer, our team advised the client that it was not just, and in turn, our client declined and we immediately filed a lawsuit on his behalf. For many months, our team fought for our client in negotiations with the insurance company, receiving unfair offers and sending more just demands. Finally, we received a fair settlement offer of $500,000, which our client accepted.

Each auto accident claim has a different timeline and different steps needed to take to secure fair compensation for our clients. Our team will fight for you, no matter the amount of time it takes, to make sure you receive the money you deserve. Insurance companies tend to initially offer way less than injured victims deserve, that is why having an experience personal injury lawyer on your side is important to achieve fair compensation for your injuries.

If you’ve been involved in an auto accident, don’t wait! Give us a call at 800-800-4600. The initial consultation is completely free, and we have team available to take your call 24/7. Don’t trust that the insurance company is on your side and will take care of you. Let us make them take care of you instead. Call now!