Dell & Schaefer obtain policy limits for car accident victim

College Student Injured in Auto Accident in Coral Springs

Our 18-year-old client was home from college for the summer when she was involved in an auto accident as a passenger in her friend’s vehicle. The vehicle was travelling southbound on Coral Ridge Drive in the city of Coral Springs, Florida. The defendant ran a stop sign on Wyndam Lakes Boulevard and broadsided our client’s vehicle, causing the driver to lose control, careen off the road and hit a nearby fence. Our client was rushed by ambulance to the emergency room at Coral Springs Medical Center where she was treated for back pain, as well as minor cuts and bruises to her feet and legs.

After two months of treatment and therapy, our client had to leave town and return for her fall semester at college. Prior to her departure, she had a lumbar MRI, which revealed she had a herniated disk at L4-5. All hospital and medical records were obtained and submitted to the insurance company for the at fault vehicle.

Attorneys Dell & Schafer obtain $10,000 policy limit from Geico, file uninsured motorist claim

Upon receipt and review of the medical documentation we submitted on behalf of our client, Geico tendered their policy limits of $10,000.00 per person. Unfortunately, there was only a 10/20 policy and $10,000.00 was the maximum coverage available to our client. Fortunately, our client had underinsured motorist (UM) coverage available to her under her mother’s policy with Allstate. As our client was a resident in her mother’s household, she was able to make a claim for UM benefits, even though her mother’s car was not involved in the subject accident.

UM carrier Allstate waives subrogation and approves settlement with Geico

In order to settle with Geico Insurance Company for the policy limits of $10,000.00, Allstate had to approve the settlement and waive subrogation. If the settlement was not approved by Allstate, and our client settled with Geico and signed a release, she would have forfeited any rights to make a UM claim for additional compensation. In this case, Allstate waived subrogation and approved the $10,000.00 settlement when they determined that the at fault party did not have any significant assets. At the conclusion of our client’s treatment, the case was prepared and submitted to Allstate with a demand that they pay underinsured motorist benefits to our client. Allstate gets a $10,000.00 set-off for damages sustained by our client as that was the amount collected from Geico. Although Allstate has made an offer, it was rejected by our client. Attorneys Dell and Schaefer are presently negotiating a UM settlement with Allstate.

If you have been injured in an accident and have a bodily injury or uninsured motorist claim, contact Attorneys Dell and Schaefer for a free consultation.