Our client was in her 40s and was a paralegal in the insurance industry. She was involved in a car accident in which there was no dispute as to liability. However her injuries were hotly contested as she claimed severe neck and back problems requiring numerous injections and long term physical therapy. The case was litigated in Suffolk County where the defendants made a motion for summary judgement on threshold.They claimed that the plaintiff did not meet a serious and permanent injury and the case should be dismissed. We opposed the motion with dozens of exhibits including doctors affidavits and medical reports.We won the motion and the matter was then submitted for arbitration. At the arbitration both sides presented their evidence and the arbitrator gave the plaintiff an award beyond the insurance policy limits of the defendant.We then proceeded to submit a SUM claim with the client’s own carrier who gave up their entire policy. The client ended up with a six figure settlement and she was very satisfied. This case could have been resolved two years earlier but at a very low settlement. We made the decision that this woman deserved a considerable amount more and she got it.
Goldstein and Bashner
