ZDR Navigates Insurance Claim for Car Accident Victim

Zevan Davidson Roman recently settled a case involving a Missouri man who was severely injured in a car accident while visiting Arizona with his son. Although a personal injury lawsuit was not filed, our team brought exceptional value and delivered financial compensation that our client would not have received without an experienced car accident attorney.

Case Background

In July 2018, our client was driving in Arizona when he was struck by another driver. The crash left him with severe injuries, including a skull fracture and traumatic brain injury. Our client contacted us immediately after the crash and, given the scope of his injuries, we knew he would require significant compensation. We also knew recovering that compensation would involve navigating the complexities of auto insurance coverage.

Maximizing Insurance Claims

The other driver in this case had only $15K in insurance. Typically, this would qualify them as “underinsured,” as their policy did not provide adequate coverage for the accident and the limit was less than our client’s own auto insurance limit. In Missouri, however, drivers are required to carry at least $25K in auto insurance. Upon a complete review of our client’s policy, we discovered that we could classify the other driver as uninsured, thus allowing us to recover more compensation.

This strategy allowed us to recover the full $500K outlined in our client’s uninsured motorist coverage. Our client had five additional vehicles on his insurance policy and we were able to “stack” the uninsured motorist coverage to obtain an additional $25K for each of these vehicles, for a total of $125K.  We also noticed our client had an umbrella policy that allowed him to collect an additional $25K in a situation like this where the other insurance coverage was exhausted and he was still not fully compensated for his injuries. Altogether, our attorneys obtained $650K under our client’s policy as well as the full $15K from the other driver. Our client was able to use those funds to pay for his medical expenses and long-term care.

The Value of an Attorney

In a severe incident like this, both insurance companies may quickly offer their maximum coverages. As a victim, you may look at this and think it is the best possible outcome. However, there may be ways to increase your payout even more. Had our attorneys not acted in this case, it is very likely that our client would have missed out on hundreds of thousands of dollars in compensation.

This is why we recommend contacting an experienced personal injury attorney after a car crash — even if you don’t plan on filing a lawsuit. Your attorney will always work toward your best interest, whereas your insurance company may not.