Brown v Haithcoat, St Louis County, Missouri. In October 2017, our Client is hurt in a rear end accident. A driver insured by State Farm Insurance was not paying attention and caused the crash. Our client was diagnosed with a significant neck injury. The driver had $50,000 in coverage with State Farm. We made a demand for policy limits of $50,000. State Farm did not pay the policy limits, therefore, when case was close to trial State Farm paid $225,000.00, well over the insurance policy limits.
This is called an excess judgment or settlement. State Farm paid $225,000 because they did not settle the case for the $50,000 policy limits when they had the chance. An experienced injury lawyer knows how to create a claim against the insurance company to force payment over the policy limits.
Our client’s case took longer to resolve, but it was well worth it. Her case settled for $225,000 instead of limited to the $50,000 auto insurance coverage the at fault driver had with State Farm.
Experienced Missouri injury lawyers know how to approach a case to set the insurance company up for excess judgments or settlements if they don’t pay the policy limits right away. Call us for a free consultation. (314) 863-0500.