Vero Beach accident attorney recovers $60,000 for injury at church

Woman Injured While Attending Church in Vero Beach

It is extremely rare that a person goes to pray at church and leaves in an ambulance due to the negligence of a church employee. Our client was sitting in the church pew during Mass listening to the priest’s sermon when the incident occurred. The priest put his hand on the top of a member’s head and began a ritual to remove the sins from the member. As part of the ritual, the priest was shaking his hand and praying. The ritual began to get more intense as the priest began praying louder and shaking his hand faster. At the end of the ritual, the priest pushed the member backward. Unfortunately, the priest pushed a little too hard and the member fell off the church stage and landed on top of our client causing her to fall out of the pew and onto the floor. Our client suffered contusions to her entire body and had neck and back pain. Not knowing what to do, our client called Vero Beach Accident Attorneys Dell & Schaefer.

Our Client Begins a Course Of Physical Therapy

Immediately after the incident, our client was rushed to Vero Beach Medical Center where she was treated for her injuries. The hospital prescribed medications for her injuries and recommended that she follow up with a physical therapist. She then sought the care and medical attention from a local chiropractor. The chiropractor placed our client on an intense physical therapy regimen. After several weeks of physical therapy with little improvement in her pain, she underwent an MRI of her neck and back. The MRI showed several herniated discs in her spine. Due to the positive findings of the MRI, she was referred to an orthopedic surgeon. The orthopedic surgeon said that, given our client’s age and physical condition, she was unable to undergo and surgery to repair the damage to her back and her pain would likely persist for the remainder of her life. He declared in his reports that she received a permanent injury that resulted in a permanent impairment of 10% of her entire body.

Attorneys Dell & Schaefer Obtain $60,000 Settlement from Insurance Company

Our client called numerous law firms but could not find an attorney to take the case. She then contacted Dell & Schaefer after a close friend and former client recommended that she call us. Despite the uniqueness of our client’s injury, our firm decided to take the case. Our firm quickly filed a claim against the church’s insurance company. The insurance company offered $10,000 to settle the claim. The insurance company argued that her injuries were not serious or else she would have undergone surgery.

Our firm countered with the orthopedic report showing our client was prescribed surgery but was unable to undergo the procedure due to her own pre-existing health conditions. Our firm argued that there was no difference in terms of case value when someone undergoes surgery or when someone needs surgery but cannot undergo the procedure. We demanded a higher payout on her case. The insurance company refused to offer more money. As such, our firm drafted a lawsuit and served a courtesy copy to the church and the insurance company. Our firm remained steadfast and informed the insurance company that, should the insurance company not pay the cost of the surgery, our firm would seek damages in excess of the policy limits. Within days of receiving our final demand, the insurance company settled the case with our firm for $60,000. Our client was absolutely thrilled that we fought the hard fight and did not stop until we received a surgical payout on a case where the client never underwent any surgery.

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