Breaking Down the Case: How Seattle Reached a 2.1 Million Dollar Verdict
In March of 2020 a man was driving to work. He was driving a Ford F350 truck. As he drove toward an intersection located south of Seattle, he dropped his coffee cup on the floor, and it landed near his feet. He reached over to grab it and when he sat back up, he was entering an intersection on a red light. He felt his truck shake and he came to a stop.
Waiting at the intersection was an African American man driving a Nissan Altima. He patiently was waiting for the light to change. It changed to green, and he proceeded out into the intersection. Without any warning he heard an explosion, hit his head and felt his car spin a complete circle and come to a stop. He was dazed for several minutes.
After talking to the police, he went to work. After an hour he began to vomit. He went to the hospital and was diagnosed with a head injury, post-concussion syndrome and injuries to his neck, back and shoulder. He was released and went home.
He began treating with a chiropractor. The treatment lasted 13 months. He then did not treat for 4 months. Due to his ongoing pain, this law office referred him to a top-notch physical medicine doctor in Seattle. He received trigger point injections, nerve injections and physical therapy to treat his neck and back.
Eventually, our office referred him to a speech therapist to evaluate him and treat him for ongoing cognitive problems since the crash. He was also evaluated by 3 neck surgeons. None of them said neck surgery was required but one said neck surgery was inevitable.
Insurance Company’s Involvement in Seattle’s Landmark 2.1 Million Dollar Case
The insurance company for the fault driver offered $40,000 to settle. The offer was rejected, and a lawsuit was filed. Trial began in late November 2023 in Seattle. The Insurance Company hired a legal team that was very aggressive and even claimed that the man driving the car: was 60 years old and his pain is from being old and having a physical job as a dump truck driver, that he had severe neck pain a year earlier and his current pain was from a preexisting condition.
They also claimed that the driver of the car committed fraud when he filled out a renewal for his commercial driver’s license. On the questionnaire he filled out they claim he lied about his physical condition, and it was inconsistent with what he testified to in court. The driver agreed that he had lied so he didn’t lose his job. He needed his job to support his family and pay his mortgage payments, among other things. At the end of the case the Insurance company lawyers argued that the jury should only award $10,000-50,000.
How Did Wells Trumbull Get a 2.1 Million Dollar Seattle Verdict?
The Seattle personal injury attorneys at Wells Trumbull showed the jury the full story and asked that the jury award $16 million dollars. The jury reached a verdict of 2.1 million dollars. Our office team included; Ben Wells (lead trial lawyer) Emily Harris and Jared Issacson (associate attorneys) and Ashley Brogan (paralegal).
We attribute this win to several things. First, our client was honest, sincere and kind. He was sensitive and understood that he needed to be venerable for the jury and honor the jury. He realized that if a jury is willing to spend 2 weeks of their time listening, he owed it to them to speak from his heart and admit to all of his actions. For our part, we spent the time to truly know our client and we discovered the true story. We knew the story would resonate with the jury and it did. We also explained to all our witnesses that a truthful story is the most powerful tool with a jury when used with vulnerability and love.
We are delighted that we could make a difference in our client’s life. Contact our Washington personal injury attorneys at Wells Trumbull today to schedule a free consultation.