$1 Million Dollars Recovered for Victim of Automobile Accident
In October 2005—after an afternoon of shopping—the plaintiff was involved in an automobile accident. Horwitz attorneys Mike Wierzbicki and Michael Carter concluded trial May 5, 2010 resulting in a jury verdict of $1,000,064.32 for the plaintiff, an immensely greater amount than the $50,000 amount Zurich insurance company initially offered nearly 5 years after the crash, and an amount immensely greater than Zurich’s final offer of $122,000 extended while the jury deliberated.
The plaintiff was hit while stopped at a red light in Orland Park with enough force to push her vehicle into the vehicle in front of her. She was taken away from the scene in an ambulance with complaints of neck, mid-back and shoulder pain. From that day forward she received numerous treatments from physical therapists, her regular physician, a chiropractor, orthopedic specialists and a neurosurgeon. Her injury was thought to be whiplash which never fully recovered and because the pain was not prominent enough to cause constant discomfort she was never considered a candidate for surgery.
“The case was prosecuted very well by Mike Wierzbicki from the beginning,” commented Michael Carter. “The plaintiff only had $49,000 in bills and this case went to trial for almost five years after the accident. In addition, she had not had any surgical procedures nor did she have any scheduled. We routinely see cases like this, prosecuted by other firms resulting in verdicts of $100,000 or less. Thanks to Wierzbicki’s work, over a several year pretrial period and at trial, our client was able to have her day in court and receive a just result.”
Significant to the case was the motion for summary judgment brought by Mike Wierzbicki which led to the court finding the defendant negligent. The past medical bills incurred by the plaintiff as a result of the collision were also judicially determined to be reasonable, necessary and caused by the collision, as a result of a separate motion for summary judgment. These findings eliminated the insurance company’s ability to argue that the accident was somehow not the driver’s fault, or that the driver was only partially responsible, and also eliminated arguments that the plaintiff was not injured due to the accident, but due to some other cause – extremely common defenses, even in rear end auto collisions. The result of Wierzbicki’s motions was that the plaintiff was judicially awarded $49,064.32 for past medical bills and the jury was informed of this determination.
"Mike Wierzbicki was able to show the judge that our case was strong, our client was injured and our cause was just."Wierzbicki credits Michael Carter for proving the severity of the plaintiff’s injury. Wierzbicki said: “Most cases of this type are approached by other lawyers as whiplash or muscular injury cases. Michael Carter dug deeper, evaluated the medical films himself, and determined that the plaintiff not only had whiplash-type injuries, but also had a tear in a disc in her neck caused by the crash which had progressed over time due to the body’s natural healing process and was now compressing the client’s spinal cord. Only a person with a thorough understanding of the anatomy like Michael could figure that out and explain it to the jury in a sensible way. Clearly, the insurance company never understood it.” The result of Michael’s work was that the jury awarded $511,000 for future medical expenses; the cost of the future surgeries to relieve the compression on the spinal cord.
“Mike Wierzbicki's pretrial motion practice before the trial judge was outstanding. He was able to show the judge that our case was strong, our client was injured and our cause was just,” Michael Carter stated. The plaintiff was able to receive a fair outcome instead of falling victim to an insurance company trying to get the lowest amount for an innocent injured party.