 |
1-800-446-5879 (303) 462-2999
|
Case Closed
On December 6th, associate attorney Robin Scully obtained a very favorable settlement under some very tough circumstances. The case arose out of a late night rollover car accident in Adams County. Mintz Law Firm’s client (our “Client”) was with 3 friends at a house party in the early hours of May 30th, 2010. One of the friends (the “Defendant”) was driving the group, under the agreement that he would act as the designated driver. At the party, however, the Defendant consumed a number of beers, to the extent that his blood alcohol content (BAC) was later determined as .023.
When the friends were ready to head home, at about 3am, the Defendant confirmed that he was not intoxicated, and that he was otherwise in a condition whereby he could drive safely. As he was driving through a residential neighborhood on the way to our Client’s house, however, the Defendant suddenly began driving a very high rate of speed and very erratically. As he sped around a corner, he lost control of the car. The car began sliding, hit another parked vehicle, and began rolling through the street and into the front lawn of one of the adjacent homeowners. The car ended up on its roof, and was basically crushed like a soda can.
Our Client, who had been riding in the rear driver’s side, was able to pull himself out of the car. As he did so he noticed that the top of his right hand had been ripped open, and the tendons and other tissue had been mangled, like they were mauled by a bear. The other two young men were also able to exit the vehicle. The Defendant, however, was unconscious and had to be removed by the paramedics. All of the young men recovered from their injuries. But our Client was left with a giant and discolored scar all over the top of his hand.
Although the Defendant was clearly at fault, and even though our Client’s injury was very serious, the Defendant’s insurer refused to make a reasonable offer to settle the case. So Mintz Law Firm and Robin Scully filed a law suit against the Defendant. Subsequently, another passenger joined the suit as a co-plaintiff. Although the case was set for trial in mid February 2012, our Client and his father had recently made a decision to travel to Spain so that they could spend time with our Client’s ailing grandmother.
Our client informed Mr. Scully and Mintz Law Firm about this in early November. Thus, Mr. Scully had about five weeks to arrange and set a mediation, so he could try and settle the case. Persuasively, he was able to obtain the other parties’ agreement to mediate the case on December 6th. He also obtained the other parties’ agreement to a favorable mediator, and filed a motion to amend the complaint and add a claim for punitive damages, in order to maximize the pressure on the Defendant’s insurer at the mediation.
Going into the mediation Mr. Scully faced some significant difficulties, e.g., including the fact that all four young men had been at party where alcohol was consumed, and arguably should known that the Defendant was intoxicated and arranged for other transportation home. This means that our Client could have been assessed some responsibility for his own injuries. Despite these problems, Mr. Scully was able to obtain a very favorable settlement of $30,000.00. A very favorable settlement was achieved, and our Client and his father are able to leave for Spain as planned, without having to worry about the possibility of a trial in February.
Workers Compensation 101
The intersection of Workers Compensation claims with 3rd party claims against the out fault person arising from the scene incident. A great number of injuries occur while the tort victim is on the job. While the Workers compensation act barrs claims against employers, and co-employees it does allow a claim against an at fault person or entity arising from the same incident. Unfortunately the act allows an assessment of percentage of fault against the employer or co-employee and that time reduce any recovery against the third party defendant which is the at fault person or entity. It is only when an employer is not insured for workers compensation where an injured employee who was injured on the job has a real choice as to whether to make a workers’ compensation claim or sue the employer or co-employee. This is the case because the purpose of the workers compensation act was to provide compensation to employees injured in the course of their employment and protect the employer from being sued. The act restricted the common law system of liability and provided a substitute a no fault compensation system. The employers’ insurance company assumes the responsibility for the work related injury irrespective of fault and therefore gets immunity from any law suits against them by an injured employee. The immunity is so strong that in a case where an employee was raped as she walked to the employer provided cafeteria during her lunch break both the employer and co-employee who assaulted her were immune from suit.
In cases brought against a third party who is at fault for the incident and who was not a co-employee the workers compensation insurance company has to be paid back any benefits it paid out in connection with the workers compensation claim arising from the same incident. Lawyers at the Mintz Law Firm however experienced in negotiating these claims of workers compensation insurance carriers and getting them to reduce the amount they demand in connection with any settlement of the tort liability claim against the third party. This is a critical area that should be exploited to put more money in the clients’ pocket. The workers compensation insurance company has to reduce its claim by the percentage that the injured employee is paying his lawyer to pursue the third party defendant, ie the at fault person. In addition, the workers compensation insurance company’s claim only covers any economic costs that is paid by the at fault person liability insurance carrier to the plaintiff. Therefore, amounts received in a jury verdict for pain and suffering for example would not be subject to the workers compensation carriers claim. By structuring a settlement that is reasonable but that specifies which amounts are going to what damages whether economic or not economic the claim can be further negotiated down.
If you have been injured while in the course of your employment contact us and we will discuss this with you further.
New blog added to our website!
We are in the process of adding a blog to our website to offer you more resources, tools, and answers. We will be adding new posts on a regular basis, so check back here for the latest news and information on Colorado injury law and how it affects you.
