We settled a case against GEICO and Travelers Insurance Company for $100,000 on behalf of a woman who suffered a back injury in a car accident. The wreck aggravated pre-existing and degenerative conditions in her lower back, causing her to require months of physical therapy and a total of six epidural injections in her back.
THE ACCIDENT
Mrs. S and her husband were driving their car on C.B. James Parkway in Austell, Georgia. They were stopped at a stop light when they were rear-ended by a woman who wasn’t paying attention and didn’t notice the light was red. Here’s a picture of the damage to their car, though it’s a bit out of focus:
THE INJURIES
Mrs. S initially didn’t think she was hurt in the accident. Later that evening she started getting very sore and having a lot of neck and back pain. When it didn’t go away after several days, she visited her family doctor who diagnosed her with neck and back strains and sprains.
Mrs. S continued having back pain that radiated into her legs and was also having tingling and numbness in her legs and finally went to see an orthopedist. The orthopedist ordered x-rays and an MRI of her lower back, which showed bulging discs and spondylolisthesis, which is where the vertebrae in your back slip out place onto the vertebrae below it. The doctor diagnosed Mrs. S with sciatica caused by the bulging discs and spondylolisthesis and ordered her to attend several months of physical therapy. When physical therapy didn’t help with her back pain, the doctor gave her a series of epidural injections in her lower back. The epidurals helped to relieve Mrs. S’s lower back pain and she was nearly pain-free for several months. However, her lower back pain eventually returned and the doctor ordered another series of epidural injections in her lower back, which again relieved her back pain.
THE SETTLEMENT
All told, Mrs. S’s medical bills were over $27,000. The driver that hit Mrs. S had $50,000 in insurance with GEICO and Mrs. S had underinsured motorist coverage with Travelers. We sent a settlement demand to GEICO and it agreed to pay Mrs. S its $50,000 policy limits.
We then sent a settlement demand to Travelers, which rejected the demand, claiming that all of Ms. S’s injuries and treatment were caused by degenerative conditions that she had before the wreck. Our firm then filed suit against Travelers and used Mrs. S’s medical records from her family doctor to prove that Mrs. S never had lower back problems before this wreck. We also had Mrs. S’s orthopedist write a letter stating that the car accident aggravated her bulging disc and spondylolisthesis, causing her lower back pain and medical treatment. After nearly six months of litigation, Travelers agreed to pay Mrs. S $50,000, making for a total settlement of $100,000.