$1,965,000 Judgment And Jury Verdict – Motor Vehicle Collision

Shiver Hamilton Campbell obtained a jury verdict on behalf of a man who was rear-ended on his way to work. The trial was held in Henry County, Georgia. Shiver Hamilton Campbell’s client, who was a 50-year-old carpenter at the time of the collision, had a variety of prior injuries and complaints of back pain. One the nation’s largest insurance companies insured the driver who caused the crash.

Prior to trial, the insurance company was given an opportunity to settle the claim for policy limits, which were less than half of our client’s projected medical and surgical costs. The insurance company instead insisted that his injuries were not related to the collision and never changed its evaluation of the case, only offering $26,000 to settle the claim. After a two-day trial, the jury awarded $1,400,000 to our client, an amount forty times larger than the insurance company’s highest offer.

Because the insurance company had rejected an “Offer of Judgment” prior to trial, attorney fees and expenses in the amount of $565,000 were added to the verdict amount. Despite the fact defendant only had $100,000 of insurance coverage, the insurance company was responsible for the entire judgment amount due to its failure to timely settle the claim. These cases are referred to as “bad faith” and Shiver Hamilton Campbell is frequently called upon to handle these types of claims.