Shiver Hamilton Obtains $1.4 Million Jury Verdict for Henry County Car Wreck Victim
Atlanta, GA (PRWEB) June 17, 2014 -- Shiver Hamilton, LLC, an Atlanta based serious injury law firm, obtained a jury verdict on behalf of a Henry County man who was rear ended on his way to work. The lawsuit was filed and went to trial in Henry County, McDonough, Georgia.
Shiver Hamilton’s client was fifty years old at the time of the collision. He is a carpenter, and had a variety of prior injuries and complaints of generalized back pain. The driver who caused the crash is insured by one the nation’s largest insurance companies.
“Before he came to us, our client’s doctors told us he needed to have surgery on his back,” said lead counsel and Shiver Hamilton partner Alan J. Hamilton. “Another very good Atlanta law firm represented our client at the time,” Hamilton added. The insurance company was given an opportunity to settle the claim for policy limits – which were less than half of the projected medical and surgical costs. Yet the insurance company declined the opportunity to settle, insisting that the injuries were not related to the wreck but were instead a “pre-existing condition.” The insurance company offered only $26,000 at that point. “It was then that we were contacted and associated on the case because the insurance company made clear this one was going to have to go to trial,” said Hamilton. A focus of Shiver Hamilton’s practice is partnering with other law firms on ‘bad faith’ cases like this, where the insurance company has declined a pre-suit offer to resolve the case for policy limits.
Shiver Hamilton worked closely with their client, his doctors, and friends and co-workers, to present the story of how this crash affected his life and health. “That was key in the case – showing how this spine injury was not the same as more common back strains our client had endured over the years,” said Hamilton, who tried the case with Firm senior associate Scott Campbell. The insurance company ultimately never changed its evaluation of the case, and offered only $35,000 to settle. The jury awarded 40 times that amount after trial. The verdict is believed to be a record for cases of this type in Henry County. On top of that, because of a pretrial ‘offer of settlement’ made by the Plaintiff’s team, the Court has now awarded over $500,000 in attorney fees against the defense insurance company. “It is both important and satisfying to hold insurance companies accountable to value cases fairly,” added Hamilton
About Shiver Hamilton
Shiver Hamilton in Atlanta Georgia based personal injury firm specializing in significant personal injury, negligent security, premise liability and representation of victims of rape or sexual assault. Shiver Hamilton provides its services free of charge unless the victim recovers compensation. To learn more about the firm, please visit http://www.shiverhamilton.com or call 404 – 593 – 0020.
Jeff Shiver and Alan Hamilton, Shiver Hamilton, http://www.shiverhamilton.com/, +1 (888) 502-2321, [email protected]
Share this article