Henningsen Injury Attorneys, P.C. Settles Drunk Driving Accident Claim
August 19, 2011
Our client had just gotten off of work as a security guard at a local night
spot. It was the early morning hours on a Sunday and he was on his way
home after a long day of work. While stopped at a red light, he was suddenly
and unexpectedly hit from behind by a
drunk driver. The force of the impact was significant and nearly totaled our client’s
vehicle. Rather than stop, the intoxicated driver, attempted to flee the
scene of the wreck, but lost control of his vehicle and hit a telephone
pole disabling his vehicle and preventing him from getting away.
An Atlanta police officer was dispatched to the scene. The drunk driver,
tried to tell the police officer that he was not intoxicated as he “only”
had four to six beers and was just tired. When asked to perform field
sobriety tests, the drunk driver refused and was ultimately charged with
refusing to take a breathalyzer. Despite feeling some pain in his lower
back and neck, our client was hoping that he was okay and decided to go
home rather than get medical treatment that night. As is the case with
many victims of personal injury, our client was sincerely hoping that
he was not injured and simply wanted to put the incident behind him. The
next day, our client began experiencing excruciating back pain and the
pain ultimately forced him to seek medical attention.
Before coming to our firm, the client spoke to another attorney who was
dismissive of the client’s case because he thought the client only
had “soft tissue injuries.” After hearing about our success
against drunk drivers, we were contacted and went to work right away.
After investigating the background of the drunk driver we learned that
although he did not have any prior convictions for drunk driving, he did
have an extensive driving history and had two speeding tickets and another
wreck in the year before this car accident. Armed with this information,
we presented the claim to the drunk driver’s insurance company.
Despite the fact that our client incurred about $4,750.00 in medical bills
and had made a full recovery from his injuries, we felt that the claim
was worth the liability policy limits of $50,000.00 due to the conduct
of the drunk driver and his prior driving history. The insurance company
responded with an offer of $18,500.00. We reiterated our position that
the claim was worth $50,000.00 and the insurance company told us that
they were only going to offer $18,500.00. In response to this offer, we
immediately filed a lawsuit against the drunk driver and within two weeks
of filing the lawsuit, we were able to convince the insurance company
to offer us the full $50,000.00 to settle the claim.
If you or someone you know has been injured by a drunk driver, a personal
injury lawyer at Henningsen Injury Attorneys, P.C. stands willing and
ready to make sure to get you the compensation you deserve.
