As reported in the Connecticut Post, this case, brought against an insured of The Allstate Insurance Co, may be one of the largest verdicts in the state for an auto accident suit that did not involve a death or life threatening injury. When Theresa Lawler was injured in a car accident five years ago, it should have been a simple matter. After all, she was a passenger in the car and certainly not responsible for the accident.
The medical bills for her serious injuries were far greater than the $100,000 insurance policy on the car. We believe the insurance company, in good faith, should have simply paid her the limit of the policy. But they did not.
Ms. Lawler came to us for help and authorized us to settle the case for $100,000. Again the insurance company refused and for more than two years they maneuvered to avoid their obligation to pay the claim.
At that time, after proving Ms. Lawler's claim and threatening the insurance company with a charge of bad faith, they offered to settle for the $100,000. By then we believed we could get for Ms. Lawler the amount that she deserved, which was much more than the limit of the policy.
We believe the insurance company did not expect us to take this matter all the way to court, and they thought they had all the time in the world to delay and frustrate an injured woman.
Finally, just a few weeks ago, we brought the case to trial and the jury awarded Theresa Lawler the $3 million we had hoped to obtain for our client. And because of the way the insurance company handled this case, they may have to pay the full amount plus four years interest. The interest alone could add an extra $2 million to the total. In addition, interest will continue to accrue every day until the insurance company finally makes payment.
Allstate apparently under estimated the fight that we would undertake to protect the rights of our client. By failing to honor a legitimate claim to the limit of their policy, they took a $100,000 loss and potentially turned it into a $5 million one.
*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.