This case arose when our client was being driven home from dialysis by a professional medical transportation company. During transport, the inattentive driver failed to properly secure our client’s wheelchair to the van/seat, resulting in her flying out of her seat and shattering her tibia when the driver made an abrupt stop. The driver claimed our client, who was in her 80s, must have unbuckled it herself. Shortly after filing the lawsuit against the defendant transportation company, we discovered that defendant’s insurance company was insolvent, and that the California Insurance Guarantee Association would step into its place (reducing the available pot of money from $1 million insurance limits, to $500,000 of possible funds, after liquidation proceedings concluded – a nightmare scenario for injury victims). CIGA offered $0 to resolve the case.
As a disputed liability case with no offers on the table, our trial team was forced to take this matter before a Van Nuys jury. It was a bifurcated jury trial meaning the liability phase would be first and damages second. Once the jury returned a unanimous verdict on liability in Plaintiff’s favor, the defense quickly offered to pay $475,000 immediately (while also threatening to appeal any verdict in our favor), and our elderly client happily accepted.
