McCutcheon & Hamner

$3.5M

Truck Accident

This case occurred in Texas. Our client was on the job when the truck in which he was a passenger was hit head on by another driver. Our client suffered devastating injuries including a traumatic brain injury. After undergoing numerous surgeries in Texas to stabilize his condition, he was med-flighted to The Sheperd’s Center in Atlanta, Georgia for treatment and rehabilitation of his traumatic brain injury. I was contacted by the family after the client arrived in Atlanta and flew to Atlanta the next day to meet with the client’s parents. Our client spent 6 months at Sheperd Center. The traumatic brain injury has left our client unable to live unable to live by or care for himself. After meeting with the family, we immediately filed suit. Due to our client being on the job, there were two different cases that had to be filed. First, was the case against the defendant driver who caused the wreck. The second was the case against our client’s worker’s compensation insurance carrier as the wreck happened while the client was on the job. The automobile accident case was resolved through mediation. The worker’s compensation insurance company, however, would not agree that our client was permanently and totally disabled even though each of his treating physicians testified that our client no longer had the mental capacity to work, would never be able to live on his on much less operate a vehicle and that he would be a danger to others. After an intense trial, the Court found that our client was permanently and totally disabled as defined by Alabama’s Worker’s Compensation Act. The worker’s compensation carrier did not agree with the decision of the trial Court and filed an appeal to the Supreme Court of Alabama. After filing written briefs in support of our client, the Supreme Court of Alabama agreed that our client was permanently and totally disabled and upheld the trial court’s award of benefits.

$3.5M

Products Liability

This case occurred in Lauderdale County, Alabama. Our client was driving her 2006 Chevrolet Cobalt home after delivering cupcakes to her daughter’s school. While driving the car, the ignition switch failed resulting in a complete loss of power. Our client’s car became uncontrollable and collided with an 18 wheeler. Tragically, our client lost her life. At the time of the wreck, General Motors the manufacturer of the Chevrolet Cobalt, knew that the ignition switch was defective and allowed the key to unintentionally slip from the “run” to “off” position while the car was being driven. The ignition switch defect would cause the sudden loss of engine power, braking and steering. GM knew about the ignition switch problem as early as 2001 but rejected several design changes and solutions that were recommended by its own engineers because of the cost and time it would take to make the changes. Upon being contacted by our client’s family and realizing that time was of the essence, we immediately filed suit and began investigating the crash. Although the damage to our client’s car was severe, we were able to determine through the use of crash experts that the ignition switch had indeed failed causing the wreck. In addition, due to having been able to begin our investigation so close to the time of the wreck, we found that another tractor trailer truck driving behind our client’s car had a dashcam which clearly showed the sudden loss of steering and loss of control of our client’s car.

$1.1M

Automobile Accident

This accident occurred in Madison County, Alabama. Our client was returning home from church when another motorist failed to yield the right of way and turned in front of our client. The defendant motorist told the police officers that our client was traveling at a high rate of speed and ran through a red light. Our client suffered as a result of the crash, our client suffered a broken neck and spinal cord compression. The client underwent emergency surgery and was rendered partially paralyzed as a result of his injuries. The family contacted us while in the hospital. I drove to the hospital and met with our client’s wife the day after surgery. We immediately filed suit. Through discovery, we obtained dashcam video which clearly established that our client was not speeding, had the green light and that the defendant driver had turned left on a red light. After the deposition of the defendant driver was completed and it was clearly established that she was not telling the truth, her insurance carrier tendered their policy limits of $1,000,000. Our client had underinsured motorist coverage of $100,000 and his insurance carrier tendered their limits as well.

$1.1M

Truck Accident

This accident occurred in Madison County, Alabama when a commercial plumbing truck lost control, crossed the median, and struck our client head-on on South Memorial Parkway. Our client, who had a history of back pain, was required to undergo multiple back surgeries after the accident. Initially, the insurance company denied liability arguing that our client’s back surgeries where as the result of pre-existing conditions and not the injuries he sustained in the accident. After filing suit against the plumbing company and it’s driver, it was discovered that the driver had a history of accidents and traffic violations. During the depositions of the clients treating physicians, I obtained testimony from the clients neurosurgeon that he was of the opinion that the injuries our clients sustained in the car wreck necessitated the surgeries. After completing discovery and the doctors deposition, the defendant’s insurance company tendered their policy limits of $1,000,000. In addition, our client had $50,000 of underinsured motorist coverage which was paid to our client as well.

$1M

Truck Accident

This accident occurred in Lawrence County, Alabama. Our client was returning home from work when a tractor trailer driver hauling logs lost control, overturned, and the logs broke loose from the trailed striking our clients truck. Our client was killed on impact. We were hired by the family of the deceased driver and immediately filed suit against the truck driver and the owner of the tractor trailer truck. After completing initial discovery, the insurance carrier for the defendant tendered their insurance policy limits of $1,000,000.

$800,000

Truck Accident

This case occurred in Colbert County, Alabama. Our client suffered neck injuries and a severe concussion when a moving company truck failed to yield the right of way and turned in front of our client. Although the moving company admitted liability, the insurance company argued that our client’s neck injury and resulting surgery was as the result of arthritis and that any issues from the concussion should have resolved quickly. After filing suit, we undertook extensive discovery of the defendant driver’s work history and the safety policies of the company. Through discovery, we established that the defendant company had failed to comply with most of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations and that the driver should not have been allowed to be on the road. The parties were ordered to mediation and the case was settled at that time.