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Some of the settlements and verdicts listed by TopVerdict.com

• 30th in the Top 50 largest motor vehicle settlements in New York State
• 43rd in the Top 50 largest motor vehicle jury verdicts at trial in New York State (motorcycle accident)
• 48th in the Top 50 largest motor vehicle jury verdicts at trial in New York State (motorcycle accident)
• 79th in the Top 100 largest personal injury settlements in New York State

Motorcycle Accident Settlements & Verdicts

$9,983.72 100% of Motorcycle Damage

The insurance company for the car that injured our client offered to pay their entire $25,000 insurance policy for his injuries. But they only agreed to 50% liability and to pay 50% of his motorcycle damage.

Our client wanted 100% of his motorcycle damage, so we refused to settle the case and filed a lawsuit against the driver to prove the driver was 100% at fault and get 100% of the damage to the motorcycle paid to our client.

After four months of litigating the lawsuit, the insurance company agreed to pay 100% of the motorcycle damage of $9,983.72 in addition to the $25,000 policy for pain and suffering. We represented our client for free for his motorcycle damage.
File # 11630

$1,850,000 This settlement broke through the $1,250,000 insurance policy limit with $600,000 paid by the company!

Can you get a settlement for more than the insurance company policy? Yes. We got $600,000 more in this case!

The car had $1,250,000 insurance, but we settled the case for $1,850,000.

Our client was riding his motorcycle and hit a car that made a U-turn in front of him. The defense claimed our client was speeding. Our client had some broken bones with surgery and returned to work six months after the accident.

Because we got more money than the insurance policy and the defendant company had to pay $600,000 out of its own pocket, the settlement was required to be confidential, and we cannot give any information about the company in the case. The motorcycle accident happened in Queens County, New York.
File # 11769

$250,000 Settlement — Dental Injury (Nassau)

— reported in Jury Verdict Review & Analysis as a top settlement

 

— reported #30th of all Top Car Accident Settlements in New York State (includes motorcycles), and

— reported # 79th of all Top 100 Personal Injury Settlements in New York State (includes motorcycles)

After two years of litigation, Liberty Mutual Insurance Company originally offered to settle this claim for only $90,000. But we got Liberty Mutual’s entire $250,000 insurance policy. The money allowed Donna to get her teeth fixed and buy a new house. See her story in the video below.

Donna was riding her motorcycle when she was struck by an SUV whose driver was trying to pass her on the exit ramp from the Southern State Parkway to the Wantagh Parkway on Long Island.

Donna needed $16,000 of dental treatment to repair her teeth damaged in the motorcycle accident. She was distraught and didn’t want to go out of the house after her beautiful smile was ruined by the motorcycle accident.

She hired a motorcycle lawyer, but the lawyer couldn’t find a dentist willing to treat her dental injury on a lien (that’s when the doctor gets paid at the end of the case). Donna then hired a second personal injury law firm, but they were also unable to find a dentist willing to treat her dental injury on a lien. That’s when Donna called 1-800-HURT-911.

We were able to immediately get Donna’s teeth repaired on a lien by one of the top prosthodontists (a specialized dentist) in New York, and Donna’s smile was restored. She was able to go out again!

Donna’s teeth were broken and crooked after the motorcycle accident

This is Donna at Dee Snider’s event after her dental treatment

Listen To Donna and Motorcycle Attorneys Phil Franckel and Rob Plevy

Donna had a broken nose, some minor scars, and dental damage but did not lose any teeth. She purchased another motorcycle and unfortunately had another accident soon after her first accident. In the second accident, she broke her nose again and had more serious scars on top of the previous scars. The second accident reduced the value of those injuries, and the main injury became the damage to her teeth.

We fixed Donna’s beautiful smile… Then we settled her case and got her the money to buy a brand-new house!

With beautiful views!

This case was settled a few weeks before the trial was to start for Liberty Mutual’s entire $250,000 insurance policy. Donna used her money to buy a house in North Carolina.
File # 11516

$425,000 Jury Trial Verdict (Suffolk) — Broken Femur – Motorcycle Police Officer

This trial verdict for a motorcycle accident was published in New York Jury Verdict Review & Analysis and is listed by TopVerdict.com as the 48th largest motor vehicle verdict in New York State for 2017.

Suffolk County is known for its low jury verdicts! Adirondack Insurance originally offered to settle this case for $50,000.

Our client was a motorcycle police officer in the Highway Patrol who was injured when he was off duty on his private motorcycle.

His motorcycle was going straight when a car coming out of a side street made a left turn in front of him after sundown at 9 PM. His motorcycle struck the driver’s side of the car’s rear bumper, causing a broken leg (thigh bone).

Because he struck the rear bumper of the car, the insurance company alleged the accident was his fault. Additionally, he testified at his deposition that he was not wearing his glasses, although his license required him to wear glasses.

Our client returned to work as a motorcycle police officer six months after the accident. At the trial, the insurance company argued that the plaintiff had a complete recovery and returned to full work duty without any restrictions or difficulties.

After our client’s deposition and the deposition of the driver, we filed a motion for summary judgment which requested the court to rule before trial that the driver was 100% at fault. The defense lawyer offered to settle for $80,000 or admit 50% liability if we withdrew our summary judgment motion, but we declined that offer.

The court ruled in our favor and found that the driver was 100% at fault. The defense attorney filed a notice to appeal the court’s decision and offered $100,000 to settle, which we also declined.

After we won the motion, the insurance company fired the defense law firm, and a new defense law firm was hired to do the trial, but that didn’t help them either.

At the time of the trial, the offer remained at $100,000. In the middle of the trial, the new defense attorney offered $300,00, which we rejected. The defense attorney asked the jury to award $100,000, but the jury returned a verdict of $425,000.

The insurance company refused to pay the verdict and advised that they were appealing the summary judgment decision (which would have taken another 1.5-2 years).

We refused to accept anything less than the jury verdict, and four weeks later, the insurance company gave in and paid the entire verdict of $425,000.

The editor at NY Jury Verdict Review was so shocked that we won summary judgment he called to ask how we won and left this message on our voicemail

1,000,000 Jury Trial Verdict (Queens) Insurance Offer: $150,000 — Head Injury

The defendant’s insurance company, Kemper Auto & Home Insurance, refused to offer a fair settlement and put their customer’s personal assets at risk by forcing us to take this case to trial.

Our client was riding his motorcycle on Port Washington Boulevard in Port Washington when he struck a car coming out of a shopping center to make a left turn. He broke four ribs, and his helmet hit the ground, causing a concussion resulting in memory difficulties.

We filed and won a Summary Judgment motion asking the New York State Supreme Court to rule that the driver was 100% at fault for causing the motorcycle accident. Since we won our motion, the jury only decided how much money to compensate our client for his injury.

Kemper Auto & Home Insurance never made a settlement offer until very late in this case, even though we proved their driver was 100% at fault for causing the accident. Eventually, they requested a mediation where they offered to settle this case for $150,000. Later, they increased the offer to $250,000. Just before the trial, they increased the offer to $400,000, which we also declined.

Kemper’s refusal to offer a settlement that we believed to be fair caused considerable distress to their insureds, who were also attorneys. Because this case could not be settled, they had to hire their own personal lawyers because they were worried that we would get a trial verdict above their insurance policy and go after their personal assets. They were lucky because the verdict came close but did not exceed their policy.

At the trial, the defense expert, neuropsychologist William B. Barr, Ph.D., testified that our client’s memory loss was caused by years of smoking marijuana and medication he was taking, but the jury didn’t believe it.

After the trial, the defense lawyer asked the jury to give our client $100,000 only for his broken ribs. The jury gave our client $1,000,000.

File # 11522

500,000 Settlement — Wrongful Death of 20-year-old (Nassau)

This wrongful death settlement was for a 20-year-old motorcyclist who was tragically killed when his motorcycle struck a car turning left in front of him. A witness testified at a DMV license hearing that the motorcyclist was next to him at a red light and took off at a high rate of speed.

We donated our money to pay the legal fees to set up the estate, which we do with every wrongful death case.

The motorcyclist was never married and had no children, dependent on him for support. We know motorcycle lawyers who settled several wrongful death motorcycle cases for riders in their twenties without dependents for $175,000.

We demanded $500,000 to settle the claim, and The Hartford insurance company offered $375,000 (which was a generous first offer for an insurance company). We declined the offer and settled the claim two weeks later (before a lawsuit was even filed) for the entire $500,000 insurance policy.

This is considered a very large settlement for a wrongful death case with a young person who didn’t have a job or any dependents. The reason we were able to get such a large settlement so quickly without filing a lawsuit is that we quickly prepared the entire case for trial, including hiring a medical examiner at the beginning of the case and providing everything to the insurance company. We applaud The Hartford Insurance Company for doing the right thing!
File # 11575

$50,000 Trial — Hit & Run (Suffolk)

Nationwide Insurance Company refused to pay this claim because they said she lost control of her motorcycle and was never hit by a car.

Our client said she was riding her motorcycle on this curved ramp leading to the Long Island Expressway when she was hit in the rear by a car, causing her motorcycle to hit the guardrail.

Since this was a hit-and-run accident and there was no one to sue, our client could only file an uninsured claim against her own motorcycle insurance policy for her maximum coverage of $50,000, even though she had serious injuries. This is why you should increase the underinsured coverage on your motorcycle insurance policy.

The insurance company denied the claim saying she wasn’t hit by a car but lost control of her motorcycle. Nationwide presented three witnesses at the trial. The police officer testified that, in between going in and out of consciousness, our client told him she lost control of her motorcycle on the gravel.

Two other witnesses testified for Nationwide and said they were driving in cars behind the motorcycle, and they did not see a car hit the motorcycle. On cross-examination, they admitted that there was a car in front of them and that they lost sight of the motorcycle on the curve.

The trial was conducted without a jury, and the judge ruled in our client’s favor finding that she was hit by a car. After the decision, the insurance company paid the entire policy of $50,000.
File # 11540

$150,000 settlement — Scar (Suffolk)

This scar on our client’s forearm was caused by a laceration from a motorcycle accident.  He did not have surgery.  This case was settled for $150,000.

File # 11486

$155,000 settlement paid by GEICO with only $25,000 insurance! & our client was drunk! (Queens)

This settlement of $155,000 for a drunk motorcyclist with only $25,000 insurance was so amazing it was published in New York Jury Verdict Review & Analysis.

This motorcyclist was “falling down” drunk (0.203 BAC) while riding his motorcycle in Queens on the Belt Parkway!  He was struck in a “hit and run” accident by an unidentified car that left the scene, so we had no one to sue. He only had $25,000 uninsured coverage on his motorcycle insurance policy, but I was able to get GEICO to pay more than his uninsured coverage limit!  GEICO hired a toxicologist and argued that he wasn’t hit by a car but fell off his motorcycle because he was drunk. His case settled for $155,000 even though he only had $25,000 insurance!

This photo shows the broken ankle

File # 11471

$25,000 Settlement — motorcyclist ran a stop sign (Suffolk)

A witness saw our client run a stop sign, and our client even admitted to the police officer that he ran a stop sign. Two other lawyers refused to take the case. We settled this case for the entire $25,000 insurance policy. We even got money for the damage to our client’s motorcycle.

$100,000 Settlement — bicyclist ran a red light (Queens)

A witness saw our client run a red light, and two other lawyers refused to take the case. We settled this case for the entire $100,000 insurance policy with GEICO. GEICO didn’t pay his dentist for dental treatment.

We got the case two years after the accident when the dental office manager asked us for help to get the dental bills paid. We got the dental bills paid within two weeks, so he was able to finish getting treatment. Then we got him $100,000 just a few weeks later.
File # 11618

$100,000 Arbitration Decision — Ligament tear in a thumb (Nassau)

Phoenix Insurance Company offered only $5,000 to settle this claim, arguing that our client put his motorcycle down for no reason other than he was afraid and that his injury was minor. He put his motorcycle down to avoid hitting a car suddenly backing out of a driveway. $100,000 was ordered to be paid to our client for his injury by an arbitrator (a retired Westchester Supreme Court Judge). The arbitration cost was only $1,400 instead of $25,000 for the trial, so our client got to keep a lot more of his money.

File # 11504

$465,000 Jury Trial Verdict (Nassau) — Torn Meniscus (Knee injury)

This trial verdict for a motorcycle accident is believed to be the largest verdict on record in Nassau County for a meniscus tear and was published in New York Jury Verdict Review & Analysis and is listed by TopVerdict.com as the 43rd largest motor vehicle verdict in New York State for 2017.

 

GEICO’s driver had $300,000 insurance coverage, and GEICO only offered $10,000 to settle this claim, putting his personal assets at risk. Four years after the accident, GEICO increased its offer to $20,000. (Read how you can avoid becoming liable for more than your insurance policy)

The verdict was for a motorcyclist with a meniscus tear (knee injury) with arthroscopic surgery to repair the meniscus. Our client struck a car turning left in front of him. The jury found the driver was 100% at fault. GEICO hired two orthopedic surgeons and a radiologist to testify that the meniscus was not torn and the surgery was unnecessary.

Our client’s knee injury after the motorcycle accident
File # 11483

$1.25 Million settlement at trial — Concussion

A 46-year-old woman with minimal impact did not report headaches until a month after her accident. Her first neurologist said her headaches were either early MS or from prior Lyme disease. The insurance company obviously thought this case had problems. Settlement offers were $50,000, $75,000, $125,000, $150,000, $175,000, $250,000, $300,000, $500,000, $550,000, $625,000, and finally, $725,000. The case was settled at trial after jury selection for $1.25 Million. You might not think a concussion is serious or even realize how it affects you, but it is a very serious injury! Read more about concussions and motorcycle accidents.

$225,000 Settlement — Broken Forearm

Our client motorcyclist riding a Harley was hit by a car making a left turn. He fractured the ulna and radius in his forearm, requiring surgery with internal fixation to install a plate.

$25,000 Settlement — Scar inside lip plus a small scar on his leg that was among other and larger previous scars (Nassau)

$1,000,000 Settlement — Neck Injury

Our client had a neck injury with surgery. Our client also had a prior accident causing a neck injury with surgery 10 years earlier.
File # 11509

See more Settlements & Verdicts

Medical Liens — Negotiated Reductions

See more information on these lien reductions and letters showing the reductions
See what we do to reduce hospital bills and stop your hospital bills from going to collection

New York accident lawyers usually pay the lien in full or charge 1/3 legal fee of the reduced amount of the lien. We do not charge a legal fee to negotiate a reduction of these liens.

The following shows some examples of the amounts we saved our clients with liens on their cases. The money paid for the lien was paid from the case settlement money.

Total liens below = $1,386,691.97
Total lien reductions = $1,369,154.08
Total paid by our clients = $17,537.89:

• Client paid $0 — $40,198.37 Medicare lien (File #11620)
• Client paid $0 — $33,564.73 lien for $66,823.26 in medical bills
• Client paid $1,939.04 — $26,241.05 NYS lien for Stony Brook Hospital (File #11620)
• Client paid $0 — $5,910.30 Medicare lien (File #11516)
• Client paid $1,152 — $6,676.99 lien by NYU Winthrop University Hospital (File #11613)
• Client paid $0 — $963,000 NYS lien for Stony Brook Hospital initially negotiated to $516,297.07 (File #11462)
• Client paid $0 — $113,311.07 Suffolk Medicaid lien (File #11462)
• Client paid $0 — $4,265.83 HIP medical insurance lien (File #11425)
• Client paid $600 — $32,000 Medicare lien (File #11583)
• Client paid $600 — $32,000 Brookhaven hospital lien settled for $1,600, of which $1,000 was paid by insurance (File #11454)
• Client paid $0 — $35,000 hospital lien (File #11140)
• Client paid $13,246.85 — $94,523.63 NYS lien for Stony Brook Hospital (File #11548)

The results mentioned here are actual settlements, verdicts, and lien reductions. However, prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Every motorcycle accident has many differences that will either negatively or positively impact the case. As can be seen, by some of the results above, we have accomplished some really good results.