A man who was injured in a truck accident has reached a $1 million settlement with the trucker’s insurance company, his attorney reports.
A man who suffered a neck injury that required spinal fusion surgery when a log truck crashed into his car has agreed to a $1 million pre-suit settlement with the trucking company’s insurance company, reports an attorney of Joye Law Firm Injury Lawyers in North Charleston. They said the pretrial settlement was reached with Progressive Insurance for the policy maximum of $1 million on Oct. 14 in Dorchester County.
Truck Driver Negligence Leads to Injury
The plaintiff, who was 51 at the time of the 2017 crash, was driving on a rural two-lane road in Dorchester County near Jedburg when he attempted to pass a log truck. The attorney said their client was lawfully driving his pickup truck in the passing lane when the log truck entered his lane without using left turn signals. As a result of the crash, the plaintiff suffered injuries to his hand and neck. After an initial surgery on his neck did not relieve his symptoms, the plaintiff had a cervical spinal fusion surgery 16 months after the crash. He also needed carpal tunnel surgery.
Our client returned to work as a heavy equipment operator, but the neck pain persists, with $180,000 in medical expenses incurred and future medical expenses anticipated. The attorney stood firm pursuing the insurance policy limit of $1 million for our client.
Settling the Case
“In this particular situation the insurance company agreed with us that the reasonable thing to do was to pay the policy limits and they did,” they said. “Thankfully the insurance carrier, the defendants, and the defense counsel realized the gravity of the situation and they offered the policy limits soon thereafter, which saved both parties a great deal of time, expense, and obviously, saved us from the need for litigation.” The attorney continued to keep the insurance company informed of our client’s medical status and treatment.
G. Tom Chase of Moseley Marcinak Law Group in Greenville represented the defendant. He did not respond to a request for comment.
Reprinted with permission of South Carolina Lawyers Weekly © 2019
Disclaimer: Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.
