Michigan Car Accident Attorneys Blog

SMDA Partner, Patrick Derkacz, just finished a trial this week for a client who was injured in a 2004 crash. We sued his insurance company for underinsured motorist (UM) coverage. This is coverage which you buy for yourself which should pay if you get in a car crash and the at-fault driver does not have enough coverage.

Our client suffered a serious injury to his ankle called a sub-talar dislocation. He soon developed post-traumatic arthritis. He walks with a limp and has ankle pain every single day. His doctors have offered ankle fusion surgery but cannot promise him that it will relieve his pain.

The Insurance company took the position that the money paid by the at-fault driver's insurer (Allstate-after years of litigation) $100,000 was "adequate compensation." We strongly disagreed.

The case was complicated by the fact that my client is the owner of a small business with strong ties to the auto industry who experienced a significant decline in revenue the year before the crash. The Insurance company argued that his loss of income was solely due to the economic conditions of the industry, rather than his serious ankle injury.

We are glad to report that the jury completely rejected the insurance companies arguments and entered a verdict for more than $900,000.

SMDA client SG suffered devastating and life altering injuries in a head on highway speed collision on May 15, 1987. She was found under the dashboard and life flighted to the hospital. She was insured with State Farm at the time of the collision.

During the ensuing years, SG and her family noticed that she developed progressively worsening tremors. She was eventually diagnosed with Dystonia which is a neurological movement disorder that causes sustained muscle contractions where her muscles will spasm to the point that her body twists involuntarily or engages in repetitive movements or she is paralyzed in abnormal positions for extended periods of time without advance warning.

SG's doctors determined that her condition was due in part to the devastating injuries she suffered in the crash and that she needed help to care for herself when she suffered these tremors. State Farm refused to honor the claim. State Farm again hired a number of highly paid and frequently used doctors who examined SG and not surprisingly testified SG's problems were not related to the crash.

SMDA filed suit and after a 3 week trial the jury determined that SG's Dystonia was related to the car crash and ordered State Farm to pay for her accident related medical care. The jury did not believe the testimony offered by State Farm's highly paid and frequently used doctors.

SMDA client, CT was rear-ended on June 7, 2004. AT the time she was insured with State Farm. CT suffered a herniated disc in her neck and underwent fusion surgery about 6 months later. State Farm paid personal injury protection (PIP) benefits (consisting of medical bills and replacement services) for about two years and then terminated all benefits based on the opinions of several doctors they hired to offer an opinion. Not surprisingly, these highly paid and frequently used reviewers said CT's ongoing problems were not related to the car crash.

SMDA filed suit on CT's behalf in December of 2008 to make State Farm pay for her ongoing medical care and treatment. State Farm waited until the day of trial two years later (December 6, 2010) to offer to settle the case for about 60 percent of the unpaid medical bills. CT and her counsel (SMDA partner Patrick Derkacz) said no thanks to that.

After a 3 day trial the jury returned a verdict in CT's favor and determined that State Farm owed every single penny that CT asked for. The jury also determined that the medical bills were overdue and ordered State Farm to pay penalty interest.

State Farm must spend alot of money on those TV commercials trying to convince everyone that they are "good neighbors." In this firm's experience, State Farm is one of those neighbor's who never cuts their grass, has a broken down old car in the driveway and yells at all the neighborhood kids.

Our client, James Hawthorne was rear ended by a semi-truck owned and operated by a Kentucky based Trucking company. Mr. Hawthorne hired our firm to pursue a claim against the at-fault driver when he was unable to return to work due to a serious neck injury (due to whiplash).

SMDA filed a lawsuit against the trucking company in the Wayne County Circuit Court. Despite being served with the complaint by the local sheriff, the trucking comapny failed to appear in the case and was defaulted. Despite receiving notice of the default, the Trucking company again failed to appear in the case and a default judgment ($942,000) was entered by the Court.

When the trucking company failed to pay the judgment (and later filed bankruptcy) SMDA filed a lawsuit against the trucking companies Insurer based on the language contained in the MCS90 endorsement. Plaintiff was able to obtain a ruling from the court that the Insurer was not entitled to conduct any discovery as Hawthorne's right to recover pursuant to the MCS90 endorsement was due to the Wayne County Default Judgment which could not be collaterally attacked.

The Court then granted SMDA's motion for judgment finding that Plaintiff had established every element required by the MCS90 endorsement and entered a judgment for Plaintiff.

SMDA is available to handle any trucking accident cases or assist in any trucking accident claims that may involve the MCS90 endorsement.