Client rejects $50,000 offer and received a $200,000 verdict from a Goochland jury

Our client was driving home from work just after dark on a narrow two lane road in Goochland when she saw two headlights pointed right at her. With no shoulder to escape to, all she could do was slam on the brakes and prepare for impact. She was struck head-on by a large pickup truck pulling a trailer. She suffered a serious wrist injury requiring multiple surgeries to repair. The defendant’s insurance company offered $50,000 as a full settlement. We declined the offer and took the case to a jury which awarded her $200,000.

$115,000 Settlement for Pedestrian Struck in a Cross-walk in Downtown Richmond

We recently had the privilege of representing a lovely 50 year old woman who was struck by a hit and run driver in Shockoe Slip in downtown Richmond. She had just gone out to eat with her daughter to celebrate her birthday. On the way back to their car, they were struck in a cross-walk. Our client suffered a concussion and significant soft tissue injures. Fortunately she has made a good recovery. The driver fled the scene and still has not been apprehended.

Client Struck by Tire That Broke Off the Hub of An Amazon Truck: $38,000 Settlement

Imagine driving down a rural highway when suddenly a large truck tire comes flying directly into you. That is what happened to our client in one of our more unusual cases. A front tire from an Amazon truck came loose from the hub which turned it into a projectile. Our client fortunately did not suffer broken bones or permanent injuries. The case resolved without litigation.

$1,000,000 Insurance Settlement for Parents

Our clients trusted a day care center to care for their healthy 5 month old son as the parents needed to work full time to support their family. The facility seemed perfect as it was across the street from his mother’s job. Tragically, the day care employees disregarded multiple regulations intended to protect the health and safety of the children entrusted to them. They left him face down in his crib, swaddled with multiple blankets over him. When they checked on him 3 hours later, he was tragically lifeless. The employees are being prosecuted and the facility has been shut down by the state. After consulting with multiple pediatricians who opined that he died due to neglect, we filed suit against the facility and the employees who neglected our client’s son. Shortly after filing suit we reached a settlement for the insurance policy limits of $1,000,000.

$250,000 Policy Limits Wrongful Death Settlement in Dinwiddie, Virginia

Our client was a very active senior who enjoyed gardening and yard work. She was in a collision with an uninsured motorist who had a lengthy criminal record. Her injuries appeared non-life threatening and she was discharged from the hospital that same day. However, she was in constant pain for three weeks and then she took a serious turn for the worse. She was transported to ER with chest pain. She tragically died due to a pulmonary embolism (blood clot in the lungs). By tracking her symptoms and performing extensive medical literature research we were able to prove to her insurance company that her death was caused by the collision. The case settled for policy limits under the uninsured motorists benefits of our client’s insurance policy.

$750,000 Settlement for Army Veteran

It is amazing how an everyday event can change your life.  Kim, a proud disabled veteran, was returning her shopping cart at a Richmond supermarket when an elderly lady crashed into her causing catastrophic injuries to one leg, a broken wrist, multiple rib fractures and a concussion.  She endured multiple surgeries.  Unfortunately, the responsible driver only had $100,000 in insurance coverage.  We were able to tap into Kim's underinsured motorist policies to obtain a $750,000.  We further negotiated a substantial reduction in the Veteran's Administrations lien.  To help her prepare for the years to come, we brought in a financial advisor who assisted her in investing the funds for future payments without any tax obligations. Fortunately, after a year of hard work in physical therapy, Kim is doing remarkably well under the circumstances. 

$675,000 Settlement for Danville Wreck

Our client was driving with her son when a delivery truck driver took his eyes off the road to check for directions and lost control.  He crossed the center line and side swiped our client's car causing her to crash head-on into a pickup truck.  Her 13 year old son was in the car with her.  She passed out and her head landed on her son's lap.  She suffered multiple serious injuries including a non-displaced neck fracture.  She was fortunate that it did not cause a spinal cord injury.  She was ultimately able to return to work full time. After filing suit we negotiated a favorable settlement for our client. 

$500,000 Settlement for Pedestrian

Our client was in a crosswalk heading to her car after a long day of work when she was struck by a pickup truck.  She was admitted to the hospital with a severe knee injury that required surgery the following day.  Unfortunately, she required two further operations to treat her ankle injuries.  Using a new provision in Virginia law we were able to settle her case against the other driver for insurance policy limits and then continued the case to recover from her underinsured motorist benefits under her auto insurance policies.  After speaking with her surgeons and designating them as expert witnesses we settled with her insurance company for policy limits.    

Police Bodycam Video Proved Our Client had the Green Light: $165,000 Settlement

Our client was stopped for a red light and proceeded into the intersection when the light turned green.  That was unfortunately her last memory until she woke up in the hospital hours later with a head injury and rib fractures.  The other driver insisted she had the green light and her insurance company denied the claim for client.  We filed a lawsuit and the defendant continued to maintain she had the green light.  However, we issued a Freedom of Information Act Request on the police department and obtained the bodycam video.  On the video the other driver said the sun was in her eyes and she could not see the stop light.  The case settled about 3 months before trial. 

$1,350,000 Wrongful Death Settlement

This was a very tragic accident which caused the death of a beloved 18 year old girl.  She was struck by two vehicles on her way to her father's house.  Both drivers vehemently denied that they were at fault.  To make matters worse there were false allegations that she did not have head lights on while driving at night on an an unlit road.  We hired an accident reconstructionist who was able to prove by examining the vehicle lights under a microscope that she had her headlights on at the time of the collision.  The case settled a few months before trial during an all day mediation. 

$47,200 Verdict in Petersburg General District Court

Our client came to us after being struck by an elderly lady who ran a red light.  T-bone collisions are particularly dangerous so both drivers were lucky to have escaped major injuries.  He previously had back issues which we knew would be a challenge. State Farm made low ball offers barely over the$22,500 in medical bills so we filed suit.  The day before trial, State Farm raised the offer to $30,000.  After a short trial, our client was awared $47,200 plus costs and 6% interest from the date of the collision. 

$800,000 Hanover County Automobile Accident Settlement

Our client was a passenger in a single car accident.  The driver lost control of his vehicle, drove off the road, and collided with a tree causing our client to suffer life threatening injuries.  Over the course of three years he worked hard to recover from his injuries while we aggressively prepared his case for trial.  The case settled at the conclusion of a six hour mediation.  It has been several years but we keep in touch with him and his family.

$165,000 Settlement for Trucker Who Fell at a Truck Stop Near Petersburg

Most fall injuries occur when a customer spills a liquid and the store fails to timely clean it up or warn other customers.  In this case, the store created the danger in way that still leaves me shaking my head.  An employee was disposing of cooking grease and instead of dumping it in an appropriate container, he tossed it out the back on a path that truckers used to enter the building.  You guessed it.  Our client was going into the building at night when he slipped and fell breaking his ankle.  We filed suit after the store ignored our settlement demands.  After designating experts we obtained a well-deserved settlement for our client.

$200,000 Settlement of Goochland County Automobile Accident

On a January morning, our client was driving to work when she saw several deer on the side of the road.  Knowing that deer can dart into the road at anytime she slowed down.  Unfortunately, the driver behind her was following too close and rear ended her. After months of physical therapy she saw a neurosurgeon who performed a cervical fusion.  She has done well post surgery.  Before she came to us the insurance company only offered her a $10,000 settlement.  We were able to negotiate a settlement of $200,000 after we designated expert witnesses to testify on her behalf. 

$125,000 Settlement for Hit and Run Accident in Waynesboro, VA

Our client was crossing the street from a restaurant in Waynesboro, Va when a driver hit him and fled the scene.  He suffered serious injuries and was emergently transported by helicopter to the UVA Medical Center in Charlottesville, VA where he was hospitalized for several days.  The driver turned himself in the next day.  Since our client was not in a cross-walk and there were allegations that he was running across the street, liability was disputed. In a refreshingly rare example of cooperation between the insurance company and the plaintiff we were able to reach a settlement that reflected the risk to both parties. The defendant was convicted of felony hit and run. 

$100,000 Chesterfield County Distracting Driving Automobile Accident Settlement

Our client suffered a serious ankle fracture in an automobile accident caused by a distracted driver.  She was admitted to the hospital for orthopedic surgery.  We filed a lawsuit on her behalf after State Farm only offered her $15,000 for her pain and suffering.  After filing the lawsuit, State Farm offered its policy limits of $100,000.

$110,000 Auto Accident Settlement

Our client suffered a head injury and broken clavicle when she was rear ended and pushed into the car in front of her on Interstate 95 in Richmond, Virginia.  She was ticketed for the accident because the driver that rear ended our client claimed that our client rear ended the car in front of her first.  Josh Silverman successfully defended our client in traffic court and the ticket was dismissed.  We subsequently settled her personal injury case for $110,000.

$12,500 Personal Injury Verdict in Henrico General District Court

We treat all cases, big and small, as important. Most cases settle, but when an insurance company refuses to make a reasonable settlement offer, justice can only be obtained by going trial. General District Court trials are fortunately quick and the verdict is issued by a judge not a jury.  Virginia has exceptional judges who make every effort to treat litigants with fairness. In this case our client was injured in an automobile accident. She made a reasonable personal injury settlement demand, but Allstate refused to make a reasonable offer. The verdict was $2000 above the top offer.

$77,500 Settlement for Richmond, Va. Bicyclist

We had the privilege of representing a college student who was hit while biking home from work.  The challenge in the case was she was biking at night without her lights on.  Under Virginia law, you are required to have lights on the front and rear of a bike when biking at night on roads with a 35 mph speed limit or higher. However, in researching her case we found a favorable Virginia Supreme Court decision which allowed us to negotiate an excellent settlement. 

Trial Victory for a Bicyclist Using the Last Clear Chance Doctrine to Defeat a Defense of Contributory Negligence

Our client was struck by a car making a right on red while riding a bicycle on Monument Avenue in Richmond, Virginia. Fortunately his injuries were not too severe so we filed a lawsuit in Richmond General District Court.  The defense argued that our client was contributorily negligent, which under Virginia law is a complete defense, because he was stopped in the cross-walk. The judge agreed that he was contributorily negligent, however, we were able to obtain a $25,000 verdict for him by arguing that the defendant had the "last clear chance" to avoid the accident. Under this rarely used doctrine a defendant who had the last clear chance to avoid a collision can not prevail because the plaintiff was contributorily negligent. 

$100,000 Policy Limits Settlement of Chesterfield Automobile Accident

I had the privilege of representing a Chesterfield automobile accident client who suffered a neck injury when she was rear-ended. She was initially treated as suffering from only a minor injury but when her neck pain did not improve she saw a surgeon and underwent successful neck surgery. The case resulted in a settlement for the insurance policy limits. An important lesson from this case is that you should beware of settling a case prior to recovery from your injuries. If we had settled her case prior to her surgery we would not have been able to obtain compensation for her neck surgery.

Settlement of Mecklenburg County, Virginia Single Vehicle Accident Case

At the Silverman Law Firm LC, we value building client relationships so I was more than happy to help a former client who was recently injured in a single vehicle collision.  I had represented her a few years earlier in a more serious collision.  This time she was a passenger in a vehicle that ran off the road when the driver dropped her cell phone. This is an example of how the perils of using a cell phone are not limited to sending texts or talking while driving. Our client fortunately made a good recovery promptly after the collision and I was able to settle her case within a few months for $11,500.  From a business perspective this was not a huge settlement, but combined with collecting medical payments benefits it was a big help to our deserving client.

$200,000 Confidential Settlement of Retained Surgical Sponge

Our client is a lovely woman who had a scheduled surgery that appeared to go well.  However, she became concerned when her surgical wound did not heal.  After months of pain an x-ray was taken which showed she had a surgical sponge that was left in her body from the surgery.  The sponge was successfully removed by a different surgery and she made a full recovery. 

$511,000 Confidential Settlement from Assisted Living Facility

The victim in this tragic case was a 77 year old woman who recently moved into a Virginia assisted living facility. For several years she had been taking Methotrexate once per week to treat her rheumatoid arthritis. Approximately six weeks after she arrived at the assisted living facility, the facility agreed to administer her medications for an additional fee.

For reasons that remained disputed, her physician's office wrote a prescription for her to take Methotrexate daily. It is well known that Methotrexate is therapeutic when administered weekly, but toxic when administered daily. Approximately one week later, she was admitted to the hospital with severe Methotrexate toxicity. Her blood count had fallen to critical levels leaving her vulnerable to infection. Sadly, she died of a c.difficile infection one month later.

Josh Silverman filed a lawsuit against the assisted living facility and her physician's office. Our experts were prepared to testify that it was a breach of the standard of care to have prescribed Methotrexate to be taken daily and the assisted living facility should have taken steps to correct the error. The parties agreed to mediate the case and it settled approximately one week later.

$450,000 Personal Injury Settlement with Assisted Living Facility

Our client was admitted to an assisted living facility in Richmond suffering from mental illnesses. Without obtaining permission from his family or a qualified doctor, he was placed in a locked unit on the third floor of this facility. The assisted living facility failed to obtain appropriate treatment for his mental illnesses. After only a few days he jumped out of the window and suffered fractures in his back and a punctured lung. Unknown to his family, the facility was previously cited by the Virginia Department of Social Services for failing to secure the windows. Through our investigation we learned of the previous citations and that another resident had attempted to jump out the window.

$710,000 Settlement of Nursing Home Wrongful Death Suit

Our client was admitted to a Richmond nursing home after suffering from a debilitating stroke. Within months of his admission to the nursing home, he developed numerous pressure sores due to inadequate care and poor nutrition. His weight dropped to barely over 100 pounds. He developed 14 pressure sores some as large as 8 cm x 5 cm and penetrating all the way through his skin and muscles. Our investigation found numerous examples of suspected false entries in his nursing home chart.  We filed a wrongful death lawsuit seeking compensatory damages for the losses to his family and punitive damages as a deterrent and punishment. The nursing home settled the case after we took the depositions of their experts.

$255,000 Settlement of Pressure Ulcer Case

Our client was admitted to a rehab center following spinal surgery where she developed a large infected pressure ulcer on her back. She required two further surgeries to treat her pressure ulcer. She then underwent months of treatment at a nursing home plus months of home health nursing care. Our investigation showed that rehab facility failed to provide adequate pressure relief and nutritional support to prevent the development of her pressure ulcer. The rehab facility compounded her injuries by failing to notify her doctors that she had developed a serious infected pressure ulcer.

The case settled at the end of an all day mediation.

$345,000 Settlement of Wrongful Death Case Against Assisted Living Facility

Our client, who was affectionately called by her family Aunt T, moved into a Richmond assisted living facility due to progressive dementia. Unknown to her family, the facility had been cited by the Department of Social Services for failing to provide heat for its residents. On a December morning, Aunt T was found in bed, unconscious, and suffering from severe hypothermia. Upon arrival at the hospital, her body temperature was only 84 degrees. She tragically died two weeks later from complications of hypothermia. Our investigation revealed the prior citations for lack of heat. We also interviewed a former employee who confirmed that the building was so cold that employees worked in winter coats and long underwear just to stay warm. The owner refused to raise the temperature in the building and actually covered and locked the thermostat. The case settled the night before trial for $345,000.

Wrongful Death Due to Pressure Ulcers at Virginia Hospital

An elderly patient was admitted to a Virginia hospital for treatment of high blood pressure and dizziness. One week into his hospitalization, a nursing student found a pressure ulcer on his buttocks. Even though she reported it to her instructor, his doctor was not notified and the pressure ulcer went untreated for a week until he was transferred to a skilled nursing unit. By that time the pressure ulcer on his buttocks had significantly worsened and he had developed multiple pressure ulcers on both feet. Despite surgical debridement of the pressure ulcer on his buttocks, it became infected and he died of sepsis. The case settled after we identified our expert witnesses. The terms of the settlement are confidential.