Dothan Alabama Personal Injury Attorneys Settle A Complicated Case
Dothan Alabama Personal Injury and Accident Lawyer Aaron Gartlan of Gartlan Injury Law settled a lawsuit that had been filed in the Circuit Court of Pike County, Alabama with a jury demand on behalf of a good, honest, local woman for injuries and damages related to a car wreck.
Prior to the filing of the complaint for damages, State Farm, the insurance company for the driver who caused the wreck, had not made any offer to settle the case. Therefore, the lawsuit was filed in an effort to prove and demonstrate liability, injuries, and damages, add value to the case, and maximize recovery.
Many cases can be settled without the filing of a complaint for damages. However, sometimes an insurance company will not make an offer to settle, or a fair offer to settle until after that happens. Further, some cases require the filing of a lawsuit immediately, such as catastrophic injury and death cases where significant insurance coverage is potentially involved.
In this case, liability or fault was clear but there were several other issues that complicated the case. First, this nice woman was elderly with some chronic health issues that required medical treatment before and after the automobile accident. She also had BlueCross BlueShield medical insurance and Medicare, which claimed a subrogation interest in any proceeds from the lawsuit related to all of the medical treatment from the date of the car crash even though the majority of it was not as a result of the wreck.
If you recall from a previous article, subrogation allows an insurance company to have a claim to proceeds of a settlement or judgment for medical bills paid as a result of injury and damages that are the subject of the settlement or judgment.
So, in this case, it was necessary to negotiate with BlueCross BlueShield and Medicare to reduce their subrogation interest and to only claim treatment directly related to the wreck and to negotiate with State Farm Insurance Company for a fair settlement on her behalf.
Dothan Lawyers David Hogg and Aaron Gartlan of Gartlan Injury Law take great pride in helping people and families stand up to big powerful corporations like insurance companies and welcome calls and visits from people that think their insurance company might be attempting to take advantage of them. When you feel like you have been taken advantage of, especially by a big powerful corporation, naturally it can seem intimidating and overwhelming and like you do not have a chance to be treated fairly. Our American Court System and the right to a trial by jury was created by the people for the people and was designed to give the people a level playing field against big powerful companies like insurance companies.
Aaron Gartlan is a graduate of Troy University and the Thomas Goode Jones School of Law who focuses his practice exclusively on representing those injured by the wrongdoing of others. He is member of the National Trial Lawyers Association’s Top 100 Trial Lawyers, Million Dollar Advocates Forum and Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum. In addition to his legal practice, Aaron teaches Business Law as an adjunct instructor at Troy University’s Sorrell College of Business and serves as a field artillery sergeant in the Alabama National Guard.
