Working with personal injury attorneys who litigate claims doesn’t necessarily mean your case is more likely to go to trial. In fact, a firm that prepares every case for trial often achieves better settlements because of that preparation.
A recent Schneider Williamson Car Accident & Personal Injury Attorneys case proved this view to be true. Our client received a $2.85 million settlement after a head-on collision with a tractor-trailer. After a unique turn of events, we settled the case within the court’s chambers on the day the trial was supposed to begin.
The Tractor-Trailer Accident
Our client, an Albany resident, was severely injured by a head-on collision with a tractor-trailer in December 2018. He had undergone shoulder surgery for an unrelated injury just days prior.
He was a passenger in his sister’s vehicle and heading to his first follow-up appointment with his surgeon when the accident occurred.
“The impact slammed our client’s head into the windshield,” said Schneider Williamson Car Accident & Personal Injury Attorneys co-founder and partner Campbell Williamson. “His neck was severely injured, and the impact further injured the same shoulder that had just been repaired.”
The journey to recovery was long and painful. Our client’s inability to work eventually necessitated his wife’s return to the workforce to make ends meet.
“Our client had four shoulder surgeries and two neck surgeries, including complex rotator cuff repairs,” Williamson said. “The physical and emotional toll was immense. Also, he was unable to return to his prior employment after the tractor-trailer accident.”
Challenges During Recovery
Our client faced numerous challenges, which began with proving the extent of his injuries.
The previous shoulder surgery made it difficult to properly assess the extent of the injuries sustained in the tractor-trailer accident. Our client’s attempts to return to work after the accident further complicated these efforts.
“He was a carpenter, and there were periods when he was very limited, but there were also periods when he could use his shoulder. One of the issues we faced was medical records that included statements like, ‘My shoulder is really sore. I think I overdid it this week,’ before his subsequent shoulder surgeries. The question of whether he was re-injuring his shoulder by not giving it enough time to heal and rest was a challenge we had to overcome for this client.”
— Campbell Williamson, Co-Founder and Partner, Schneider Williamson Car Accident & Personal Injury Attorneys
The defense used these factors to downplay our client’s injuries. They argued that his struggles were unrelated to this specific incident.
Pursuing Justice
As our team pursued medical evidence linking our client’s physical trauma to the tractor-trailer accident, the other side chose a less scrupulous path.
The trucking company, in violation of federal law, failed to preserve crucial speed and performance data from the truck’s onboard computer.
“They’ll usually say that they mistakenly destroyed the data, which happens a lot, even for companies that have a duty to preserve that information. But this was more egregious. The company executives testified in their depositions that they had reviewed the data, determined that the driver wasn’t speeding, and then destroyed the data that could objectively prove or disprove this fact.”
— Jason Schneider, Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Schneider Williamson Car Accident & Personal Injury Attorneys
This blatant attempt to manipulate the record demanded a strong legal response. Our firm filed a motion for spoliation of evidence. We argued that the data destruction was intentional and designed to hinder our client’s case. The judge granted the motion.
“This was a critical victory,” Schneider said. “The judge instructed the jury to presume the destroyed data was unfavorable to the defendants.”
An Impromptu Mediation
The defense was unwilling to meet our attorneys’ requirement for a settlement when we attempted mediation, so we ensured that the client and his case were ready for his court date in Chatham County, where the driver had lived at the time of the accident.
We were prepared to proceed on the first morning of trial in Savannah, Georgia. However, an unforeseen delay created an unexpected opportunity. The court reporter scheduled for the case had a last-minute family emergency, which led to an opportunity to reignite negotiations inside the courtroom.
“The judge said we were free to use the courtroom space,” Williamson said. “So we went to the jury room, and the defense stayed in the courtroom. We were able to conduct our own mediation.”
A mediation one and a half years prior had stalled when the defense offered a mere $500,000 instead of meeting our demand for at least $2 million, which was the primary policy’s limit.
The Tractor-Trailer Accident Claim Results
We attributed the initial resistance to the defense’s assumption that they could settle for less, despite the fact that our client had more than $700,000 in medical bills when the trial was scheduled and our consistent position throughout the litigation that the case would never settle for less than two million dollars.
This time, however, the primary insurance carrier and their representatives relented and agreed to tender the $2 million. Our client signed off on a final settlement amount of $2.85 million after we secured additional compensation from the excess carrier, which also negated the need for a trial.
“We are pleased to have obtained such a great result after our client’s life was completely turned upside down,” said Schneider. “His financial future is now secure.”
Location: State Court of Chatham County
Case Number: STCV20-01674
