Sometimes it's hard to be a nice person. Sometimes it's downright impossible. Injury victims aren't looking for a nice guy. So, when it comes to doing everything possible for our clients, we take off the gloves and go to work. Most of the accidents that occur between a car and a motorcycle are the result of the car turning left at an intersection into the path of the oncoming motorcycle. This one was a classic.
On a cool autumn evening Michael Schwantz was riding his motorcycle home and, at the same time, Georgia Chesterfield was driving her husband's car. Suddenly and without signalling, Ms. Chesterfield made a left turn directly in front of Mike's motorcycle. He hardly had time to react before his front wheel struck the side of the car.
Mike was thrown violently to the ground. His brother, Arthur, following in his car, was horrified by the collision. "I went over to Mike who was lying on his stomach in the road. He was unconscious and did not answer me when I talked to him. I could see blood coming from under his helmet, but I couldn't tell where it was coming from. He also had blood coming from his nose and was having trouble breathing." Arthur explained.
Arthur helped his brother as best he could until the ambulance arrived. Mike had sustained many serious injuries.
Mike Schwantz's medical bills totalled $62,000. Fortunately, his private medical insurance covered many of them. Unfortunately, Mr. Chesterfield had only $50,000 liability insurance. Ordinarily, that would be the limit of a victim's recovery, but we knew that this amount was hardly adequate to compensate our client for his injuries. He asked us if we could go beyond the limit of the policy and we accomplished our mission.
Our investigations revealed that Mr. Chesterfield owned two houses, the one he and Mrs. Chesterfield lived in and an additional rental property. Knowing that the insurance did not completely cover Mike's losses, and after long and difficult negotiations, we convinced Mr. Chester field to raise an additional $45,000 for Mike. We also negotiated on Mike's behalf with his many creditors to reduce their many claims for repayment. In the final outcome, Mike received the best medical care available and realized a significant cash recovery that enabled him to get on with his life.
*Some names and details have been changed to protect confidentiality. While we can't guarantee the same results; we can assure you the same effort.