Greenville Personal Injury Lawyer - Automobile Accidents

Insurance Company Settles Bad Faith Action Arising Out of Automobile Collision with Drunken Driver for $20 Million

Harold Christian — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 16:29:21 GMT

Joseph Tuski, a former construction worker, was left a quadriplegic, after being struck by a drunken driver and thrown more than 100 feet. In addition to bringing a lawsuit against the drunken driver, Mr. Tuski appropriately brought a lawsuit against the tavern that served alcohol to the drunk driver to such a point as to make him intoxicated even after he was obviously intoxicated. On January 17, 2001, while Mr. Tuski was working as a flagman for Liberty Construction on a road paving project, he was struck by the drunken driver and was rendered a quadriplegic.

Joseph Tuski was a road construction worker and was rendered a quadriplegic when he was struck by a drunken driver. The drunken driver, who was the manager of a tavern, had also been served alcohol at that tavern to the point he was obviously made intoxicated. Dram shop laws prohibit bars and taverns from serving alcohol to persons at the point that they are becoming obviously intoxicated. The purpose of this is to protect the public, and not to allow the taverns and bars to sell alcohol to people who are intoxicated and then turn them loose on the public roads. In this situation, the Court held the tavern responsible for the damages to the innocent Mr. Tuski.

Interestingly, the drunken driver was charged with Driving Under the Influence, and plead guilty. However, in the lawsuit, he denied that he was guilty of driving under the influence and testified that he only plead guilty to avoid incarceration. Immediately after the accident, he denied drinking any alcohol and refused to submit to the blood test. After the police obtained a search warrant, the driver's blood was tested and showed a blood-alcohol level of 0.12 percent and a urine alcohol level of 0.17 percent. Both of these are strong indicators of intoxication. The tavern had $1 million worth of liability coverage, and the insurance company, Princeton Insurance Company, repeatedly refused to settle with the quadriplegic victim for that $1 million, instead required that he go to trial. At the trial of the case, the jury awarded more than $75 million, including $25 million in punitive damages. The award was later cut in half by a trial judge, with the verdict reduced to $37.5 million, which was later affirmed by the Pennsylvania Superior Court on appeal.

The tavern then assigned its complaint of bad faith for refusing to settle against its insurance company, the Princeton Insurance Company, to Mr. Tuski who brought suit for bad faith. The claim was that the tavern felt their insurance company was unreasonable in refusing to settle for $1 million, and because they were unreasonable it resulted in a $37.5 million verdict against them, for which they did not have full insurance coverage.

As a result of the second litigation, where the insurance company was being sued for bad faith, Princeton agreed to pay an additional $20 million for their bad faith actions during litigation. This case highlights the problem with insurance companies who frequently act in bad faith and refuse to settle a claim for a seriously injured victim. Not only did they require the seriously injured victim to go through an unnecessary delay and expensive litigation, but they also placed their insured parties in an untenable and difficult position by placing their assets at risk.

The claim that there are too many frivolous lawsuits is unwarranted. While there may be some frivolous lawsuits, frivolous defenses, such as the one highlighted here by an insurance company who refused to pay money when they are responsible, far exceed the number of frivolous lawsuits. State legislators and our U.S. Congress need to act to prohibit bad faith conduct such as that which was exhibited by this insurance company.

For more information on this subject, please refer to our section on Car and Motorcycle Accidents.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Harold Christian

Car Insurance - What Kind and How Much?

Matt Christian — Thu, 31 May 2007 17:28:59 GMT

As an attorney that handles personal injury cases, I am frequently asked by clients that have been injured in a motor vehicle accident what kind of automobile insurance they should purchase and how much. Most of the time they are prompted to ask because the other driver that injured them has minimum limits that are insufficient to cover their injuries.

The first issue that should be addressed is what kinds of automobile insurance exist in our state. In South Carolina, we have four basic types of insurance. Our state requires that every driver have liability insurance and unisured motorist coverage. Liability insurance is the coverage which pays for injury or property damage which the insured caused as a result of his/her own negligence.

Uninsured coverage (often referred to as "UM") is coverage which covers the insured when he or she is injured or has property damage as a result of an uninsured driver. This coverage, like liability coverage, is mandatory in our state.

The third kind of coverage in South Carolina is underinsured coverage (often referred to as "UIM"). This coverage is not mandatory and is optional coverage that can be purchased in increments up to your liability limits. While it is not mandatory for the driver to have, the insurance company must offer it to the insured. This coverage is intended to pay for injuries and property damage that may exceed the at fault driver's liability limits.

Often times we see drivers who have injured our clients and those drivers have the minimum coverage which is insufficient to pay for the injuries and damages of our clients. If our clients do not have underinsured coverage, then they are stuck with whatever the liability limits are of the at fault driver and are often times left in an undesirable financial situation since there is insufficient coverage for their injuries and damages. I advise my clients to always purchase UIM coverage for themselves on all their vehicles. Most who have been stuck with an at fault driver who has insufficient coverage to pay for their injuries immediately go out and buy it for future protection. While UIM coverage does increase your premiums, it is often very cheap for the benefits and protections offered.

South Carolina required minimum liability limits of $15,000 for a long time. Our legislature has recently passed laws increasing the minimum liability limits to $25,000. However, this is often not enough to pay for a person's injuries with the ever-increasing cost of medical care and lost wages. A serious collision often with serious personal injury often leaves people in financial difficulty since they have high medical bills and are unable to work.

The fourth kind of coverage which is optional for an insured to purchase in South Carolina is what is commonly referred to as Med-Pay or Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage. This coverage may be purchased by the insured to pay in increments up to $5000 (depending on the limits) for medical bills regardless of who is at fault in the wreck.

While many people search for the minimum limits for the lowest premiums, they often regret that decision when either they are being sued because their coverage is too low to cover the person's medical bills that they harmed or when the person who hit them has insufficient coverage for their injuries and losses. Purchasing car insurance should be given careful thought.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Matt Christian

Rocky Mount Police Officer Hurt in Car Accident

Shannon Weidemann — Wed, 02 May 2007 11:46:31 GMT

A Rocky Mount Police Officer that has been with the force for one year was seriously hurt in a car accident. The accident occured on Sunday morning as he was responding to a call for a robbery in progress. His police cruiser hit an SUV at Woodrull and Hunter Hill roads.

The Rocky Mount Fire Department and Nash County EMS also responded to the accident. Officials helped remove Silver - who was pinned - from his vehicle, said Rocky Mount District Fire Chief Larry Johnson.
The accident occurred near the Exxon gas station and the L&L Food Stores location at that intersection.
Danielle Daniel, an L&L Food Stores employee, said that when she looked out the window, she saw the car in the air before it landed near a gas pump.

The officer is being treated for his injuries at a local hospital. The police are still investigating the accident.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Shannon Weidemann