Horwitz Vows to Fight On for Youth Hit by Auto
A high school freshman was a point guard looking forward to three more years of high school football. But on June 15, 1999, as he rode his bike with four friends on Division Street in Lockport, Michael Guzick was driving eastbound in his Cadillac.
Attorney Cliff Horwitz argued to a jury that Billy and his friends made a left turn and Guzick slammed into the rear wheel of his bicycle with such force that he threw the boy into the air and into Guzick's windshield, cracking it with his skull. The teen wound up by the side of the road and was in a coma for two weeks.
Over the next six months, he was rehabilitated at the Rehab Institute of Chicago. He had to learn to speak, read, eat and toilet all over again. His brain is now measurably smaller than before the accident and he has permanent cognitive deficits. Nevertheless, Billy has done remarkably well and is now in college, doing well in his courses and his personal life.
The insurance company made Billy wait for three years and it's a perfect example of a callous wealthy company not caring about the devastating injury caused in an accident.
Despite the profound injury he suffered, Guzick's insurance company offered him zero dollars in compensation prior to trial. As the trial began, the company offered a mere $100,000 for the injuries that cost Billy three years of his life and that will continue to affect him as he ages.
The defendant, Guzick, argued that the teen darted out in front of him and that he could not avoid the collision. Horwitz and his partner Jay Luchsinger repeatedly demonstrated to the jury through cross examination that the testimony of Guzick and his girlfriend was less than truthful by showing that he was producing a maze of intricate and self-serving stories in this very difficult case.
Despite the obstacles thrown up by the defendant and his insurer, Horwitz was able to assist the teen in getting a verdict of $1,750,000. The jury actually awarded $3.5 million but reduced the award by 50 percent, finding that plaintiff was 50 percent at fault.
After the trial, Horwitz commented that he was "happy that the jury saw the truth and rendered a verdict against Guzick."
Unfortunately, the jury's verdict is only the first step in collecting the award. Horwitz stated that Guzick had only $100,000.00 in insurance coverage. Our client's only chance for justice now, according to Horwitz, will be to file a bad faith claim against the insurance company for failing to offer the $100,000.00 previously.
"The insurance company made him wait for three years and it's a perfect example of a callous wealthy company not caring about the devastating injury caused in an accident. "I don't care how much work we have to do," Horwitz said. "I am going to keep fighting for our client until a jury or a judge tells me that this wealthy insurance company doesn't have to pay him the $1.7 million for their callous, cold, careless, bad faith -- or until a court orders the company to pay him the settlement that is legally and morally his."