Injury Case Settlements – Aronberg & Aronberg

When money moves from one party to another at the end of negotiations or a trial, it is for the purpose of paying someone for damages that one party has incurred and that the other party is responsible for covering.  In terms of our personal injury cases, the most common type of case is that of an auto accident. The most common outcome of said cases is a settlement between our client, the injured driver, and the negligent driver’s insurance company for some amount of money based on our client’s injuries, the negligent driver’s policy, and a slew of other factors. While insurance settlements are plentiful, they’re not the entirety of the field and they’re also not that easy to facilitate.

We’re going to start this blog by telling you about a settlement between Progressive and one of its policyholder’s estates. A policyholder with Progressive was killed in an auto accident in 2010 after the negligent driver in the incident ran through a red light. The other driver was underinsured (meaning their policy’s value was less than the damages associated with the accident), and the family of the deceased woman had to sue the negligent driver for damages in order for Progressive to pay the difference in cost. Throughout the legal drama, Progressive took an “active” role in the negligent driver’s defense, according to the deceased woman’s family.  At the conclusion of the trial, a verdict of $760,000 (+ legal fees) was ordered in favor of the deceased woman’s estate.

However, because the verdict is against the driver, and not the insurance company, the family is expected to see little, if any, of that money. Because of Progressive’s gross mishandling of the incident, and the subsequent legal intricacies, the social media world hounded the company until it finally agreed on a settlement with the family of the deceased woman. Though the amount is undisclosed, the family’s attorney says that it is much higher than the originally $75,000 that the family originally sought, due to Progressive’s foul handling of the claim. While “Flo” might portray a caring, spritely image of the company in televised advertisements, the truth speaks far more profoundly of how this company—and others like it—tend to operate.

The next settlement is a strange one—but a settlement for damages nonetheless. This one is between a funeral home and the family of a deceased woman. No, the funeral home was in no way responsible for the death of the woman, but they sure didn’t make the grieving process any easier for the woman’s family. Just before the previously deceased woman was to be laid to rest for the last time, the staff members of the funeral home dropped the casket and the woman’s body fell out onto the ground. The family members of the woman felt that their last chance to say goodbye to their mother was tarnished by the negligence of the funeral home staff. Some relatives witnessed the incident, but some didn’t. The funeral home employees reached out to other members of the family asking for “new clothes” for the woman, saying only that there had been “a spill.” The funeral home did not, however, mention that what “spilled” was the mother. Because of this whole debacle, the family will receive $80,000 from the funeral home.

When people are hurt—physically, emotional, financially, etc.—due to the actions of another person or entity, they are entitled to compensation. A way to ensure that you obtain the payment you deserve is by consulting a personal injury attorney, like one of the lawyers at the Law Offices of Aronberg & Aronberg. For a free consultation, please contact 561-266-9191 or email us at daronberg@build.simple.biz.

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