Case Studies: Examples of Personal Injury Cases We Have Won
When you need to hire a personal injury attorney in the Berkshires, you need one who is experienced, tenacious, responsive and compassionate. That attorney also has to absolutely win your case. The Law Office of Scott A. Sanes has settled thousands of claims for injured clients in Berkshire County, Massachusetts since 2015, and in South Texas for 40+ years. For every case we take on, we seek the utmost compensation the law permits for our clients.
Car Accidents Case Studies
Here are some of the winning settlements we have won for our clients. Read complete case studies here.
Life’s path can be changed in an instant. Driving to work in the early morning hours, our client approached the stop sign at the entrance to her office complex when a pick-up truck rear-ended her car shattering her ankle. The truck driver had abruptly shifted lanes moments before the car crash.
The force of the collision jammed the driver’s foot on the brake pedal shattering her ankle. Multiple surgeries with an eventual ankle fusion left our client with permanent disability. The insurance company was ready to pay medical bills for the negligence of their driver, but pain and suffering were ignored in their analysis.
We were determined to seek compensation for our client that would compensate her for physical pain, impairment and disfigurement in the past and future. We filed the lawsuit, deposed her supportive treating surgeons and established her permanent loss of earning capacity by subpoena of her employment records.
On the court house steps before trial, we were able to convince the insurance company that this was not a simple ankle fracture and negotiated a settlement of $1,500,000.
A man was broad-sided by a vehicle traveling in excess of 75 mph and sustained a brain injury. He had failed to yield the right away. Scott Sanes took this case when other lawyers wouldn’t.
The insurance company refused to recognize that their insured driver was traveling at an excessive speed, misleading my client who saw him approaching with, what he perceived, was plenty of room to clear the intersection.
In trial we established, with the help of an engineering expert, that the Defendant driver was exceeding the 55 mph speed limit by 20 mph and that if he had he been traveling within the maximum limit allowed, he would have missed my client’s vehicle by 200 feet.
The insurance company offered $5,000 to settle the lawsuit before trial. The jury verdict against the Defendant driver was $1,100,000.
Intersectional Dump Truck Collision Kills Woman. Intersectional collisions always lead to what is called a “swearing match” especially if there are no witnesses. Both drivers invariably say that their light was green.
Scott Sanes represented the family of a woman killed in an intersectional collision with a dump truck so there was no “swearing match.” After no other lawyer would take the case, we hired an accident reconstructionist that looked at the weight of the dump truck, the skid marks that the dump truck driver left on the road, the pitch of the road and other factors to determine that the dump truck driver was exceeding the speed limit by 10-20 mph as he approached the intersection. If the driver of the dump truck had been traveling the speed limit, therefore, he would have missed my client’s vehicle by 100-200Ft.
After establishing these facts through deposition testimony, the insurance company for the dump truck owner tendered their $250,000 in policy limits.
A young woman was injured in a rear-end collision and suffered a soft tissue injury. Our client came to us when the insurance agency offered minimal compensation for her car accident injury.
Rear-end collisions are usually recognized as “clear liability” claims. Most drivers realize that they must keep a proper lookout and keep an assured clear distance behind the vehicle traveling in front of them so that if it slows or stops, they can apply their brakes and stop without colliding with them.
The insurance company will invariably offer a defense that the driver in front came to a sudden stop or changed lanes and slammed on their brakes. The insurance company claimed she came to a sudden stop and that, since there was very little damage to her car, she couldn’t have been hurt very badly. They only offered her $15,000 at mediation. The jury disagreed with the insurance company’s evaluation and, after a jury trial, awarded my client over $100,000.
Trucking Accidents Case Studies
Here’s a Trucking Accident Settlement we successfully settled for our client.
Man side swiped by a school district bus and suffered a torn ligament in his knee. City failed to recognize the nature and extent of his injury and disputed fault, we tried the case to a jury that found that the bus operator failed to exercise proper care when merging. Jury awarded the personal injury client in excess of the $100,000 cap on damages against a school district.
An oil tanker operator failed to yield the right of way at an intersection and exploded upon impact when my client struck it broadside. We were able to obtain a multi-million dollar settlement for the burns suffered by client due to the truck operators neglect. The operators of the trucks that carry explosives, such as gasoline, must exercise the appropriate care to make sure they are not jeopardizing themselves and the traveling public.
I represented the family of a woman killed in an intersectional collision with a dump truck. I hired an accident reconstructionist that looked at factors to determine that the dump truck driver was exceeding the speed limit by 10-20 mph as he approached the intersection. The insurance company for the dump truck owner tendered their $250,000 in policy limits.
Trip/Slip and Fall Case Studies
Trip/Slip and Fall Cases Studies with winning outcomes.
Client slipped due to slippery green algae at a lake house rental and suffered a serious ankle fracture. Insurance paid $225,000 to compensate my client for her pain, impairment, disfigurement and medical expense.
Represented countless injury victims in retail stores, restaurants, and more. Slips and falls in produce where the grocery store failed to have slip resistant mats; at restaurants where food was tainted or unattended restrooms had leaks onto the tile floor or at the entrance with no water absorbent mats when the weather turned ugly; at darkened movie theatres where the aisles were littered with abandoned wrappers; or at convenience stores where leaking beer coolers cause hazardous floors. I have obtained millions of dollars in compensation for my clients in every imaginable scenario.
Client slipped on an icy walkway while returning rented ski boats at a ski resort. The insurance company took the position that they can’t be responsible for ice in the winter and that the icy conditions were “open and obvious.” We litigated and found out the defendants knew that ice could build up on the walking surface. We were able to resolve this claim with the insurance company ultimately paying $150,000 to compensate my injured clients.
Workplace Injury Case Studies
Client suffered a traumatic brain injury when he slipped on a ramp that exceeded the OSHA pitch maximum by two inches. I brought in expert testimony, including the neurologist who had treated my client, who used state-of-the-art testing to determine that the brain injury was objectively significant and would grow progressively worse with time. Ultimately the company agreed to compensate my client with a $2.5 million settlement.
Client was encouraged by his boss to work on a residential roof without a harness, the inevitable fall occurred and led to fractures in both his hips. Since there was no workers compensation coverage, we sought the additional non-economic damages resulting in an $850,000 settlement.
Product Liability
Client lost 3 fingers on dominant hand due to negligence. Young man was working on a printing press that would continue to operate even if the safety shield was removed. Employer removed shields to allow workers to finish their work in less time. When my client lost 3 fingers on his dominant hand, the press manufacturer paid $1.5 million to compensate him for the damages due to the company not installing a shut off if the safety shield was removed.
Top-heavy trash bin causes client to lose an eye. Client rolled her trash bin from her garage towards the curb when it fell over and knocked her down because it was top heavy. A curtain rod shot out the top of the trash bin as it fell over and struck my client in the eye causing to lose sight in one eye. I retained a design engineer who testified that the design of the trash bin made it top heavy and unbalanced. He added that there should be some type of locking mechanism. After litigation the insurance company was convinced to compensate my client $200,000.
Client loses eye due to malfunction of machine. Client was a maintenance worker repairing a highly technical machine: when he used his wrench to remove a bolt, the hydraulic energy left in the machine unexpectantly backed up and shot the bolt directly into his eye causing him to lose his eye completely. The manufacturer of the machine defending the lawsuit said it was his own fault. Through the use of a mechanical engineer’s testimony, we proved that the machine should have had a shutdown switch. The zero offer by the insurance company before litigation ended up to exceed $300,000 by the time we were ready to go to trial.
Liquor Liability
A young woman was killed in a collision as a passenger of an intoxicated driver after they had patronized a restaurant and then a bar that evening. I represented the family. We established that the driver’s blood alcohol was over 3 times the legal limit, and that both the restaurant and bar had overserved the driver, each insurance company tendered the $1 million dollars in insurance limits to compensate the family for their tragic loss.
Client was attacked by an intoxicated patron of a bar and lost sight in one eye. The patron went to jail, but the bar was also held responsible for continuing to serve an obviously intoxicated man. During depositions it came to light that the drunk patron was an alcoholic with a long history of with this bar and that the bartender was known for “heavy pours” to his good customers. Client was paid to the bar’s insurance limits.
Call for a free consultation (413) 429-6400. Or email scott@scottsaneslaw.com.
