Port St. Lucie Car Accident Attorneys Dell & Schaefer Get Settlement

65 year-old retired Port Saint Lucie man and granddaughter injured in automobile accident

A 65 year-old retired Port Saint Lucie man and his granddaughter were injured in an auto accident while driving the granddaughter home from school. They were almost home and were driving through a residential portion of their neighborhood when, unexpectedly, another driver pulled out of their driveway at a high rate of speed, striking our client’s vehicle on the passenger side. The negligent driver of the other vehicle was cited by police for careless driving. Our clients were both taken to the hospital by ambulance, each with complaints of neck and back pain.

Port Saint Lucie man and granddaughter seek legal representation

Our client almost immediately knew he would need to seek representation for himself and his granddaughter. The insurance company for the negligent driver began contacting him immediately after the accident, asking him questions about the accident and accusing him of being somewhat negligent as well. They argued that even though their insured unexpectedly pulled out of her driveway at a high rate of speed, our client should have seen her coming and should have been able to avoid the accident. This was baffling to our client as he never saw the negligent driver coming and certainly was not expecting the driver to dart out into traffic from her driveway. After this discussion, our client knew he needed to hire the attorneys at the Law Office of Dell and Schaefer.

Attorneys Dell and Schaefer make claim against negligent driver

Our attorneys immediately notified the insurance company for the negligent driver that we would be making a negligence claim. We rejected the notion that our client was negligent in any way whatsoever and we were unwilling to accept any level of fault on behalf of our client. The adjuster for the insurance company initially argued that our client could have avoided this accident if he had noticed that their driver was pulling out of her driveway. They argued that he could have stopped in enough time to avoid the impact. Our attorneys felt that this argument was foolish and notified the insurance company that if they continued to unreasonably attempt to place a percentage of negligence on our client, they would be acting in bad faith. The insurance company accepted full liability on behalf of their client but, as our client later learned, they were not so willing to fully compensate him.

Port Saint Lucie grandfather learns the full extent of his injuries

Though his granddaughter did not appear to be suffering in any way as a result of the accident, our client could not say the same for himself. Upon being discharged from the hospital, our client was notified that he should be seeking follow-up care for his injuries. He brought himself to a walk-in clinic the following day but was not pleased with the level of care he received. He then began treatment with a chiropractor approximately four days after his accident. He reported a decrease in his painful symptoms as a result of his chiropractic care, but somehow he knew that chiropractic treatment alone would not solve his problems. Our client was later referred to a board certified orthopedic surgeon in an effort to seek further treatment regarding his neck and lower back pain.

Port Saint Lucie auto accident victim seeks orthopedic care

Our client was able to get an appointment with a board certified orthopedic surgeon who would address his complaints of pain. The orthopedist conducted a physical examination and decided it would be best to order two MRIs of the spine. The orthopedist wrote a prescription for a cervical (neck) MRI and a lumbar (lower back) MRI. Our client was able to have both MRIs done within four days of the recommendation. The results were not good. Our client was notified that he suffered from a disk herniation at the C3/C4 level of his cervical spine. This herniation was the obvious cause of his neck pain. The MRI of his lumbar spine revealed a disk bulge at the L4/L5 level. Though this disk bulge was relatively painful for our client, this was not a major concern for his orthopedist. The disk herniation however, was very concerning for both our client and his doctor.

Auto accident victim is recommended for surgery

The orthopedist was of the opinion that the only way to treat our client’s herniated disk was by way of surgical intervention. The orthopedist recommended a cervical disk fusion at the C3/C4 level. The surgeon explained the potential ramifications of such a surgery and explained what type of results could be expected. Our client was very concerned. He felt that if he was much younger, he would feel more confident about the prospects of receiving such a surgery. He felt that at his advanced age, he was not able to be subjected to such a serious surgery. He decided he would attempt to live with the painful symptoms caused by the disk herniation.

Attorneys Dell and Schaefer fight for auto accident victim

Our attorneys presented the Defendant’s insurance company with our client’s medical records and bills, demanding compensation. Though they admitted liability, the Defendant’s insurance company was not so willing to freely compensate our client for his injuries. They first argued that our client hadn’t suffered a permanent injury as a result of the accident. We provided the orthopedist’s opinion that our client’s injury was serious and was indeed permanent. The Defendant’s insurance company also initially refused to compensate our client for his prospective surgery, considering the fact that he hadn’t received a surgery. Our attorneys were able to show that the orthopedic recommendation for surgery was serious, and had our client received the surgery, his demand for compensation would be over $300,000.00.

Attorneys Dell and Schaefer settle the case

After several weeks of negotiations, our attorneys were able to convince the Defendant’s insurance company that our client deserved significant compensation for his injuries. Our attorneys were able to negotiate a settlement that would not only compensate our client for his past pain and suffering plus medical expenses, but would also compensate him into the future. Our client was able to receive compensation adequate enough that in the event he decided to have a future surgery, he would have a significant amount of money to put toward his medical bills.

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