$10,000 Settlement for Small Scars, Shoulder Pain from Truck Accident

Dan (not real name) was driving a pickup truck westbound through an intersection in Riviera Beach, Palm Beach County, Florida.

Kevin, was driving an SUV southbound. The diagram from the crash report is below.

accident diagram west 13 street

The crash report said that a witness stated that Kevin ran a red light. This independent witness statement helped Dan’s case.

Without it, Kevin could have argued that he had a green light. It would have been a “He said, She said” case, which would have been much tougher.

The front of Dan’s pickup truck hit the side of Kevin’s SUV.

Dan didn’t own the pickup truck that he was driving. It was uninsured so there was no PIP insurance on it.

State Farm argued that it was entitled to a $10,000 credit against Dan’s medical bills since Dan was driving an uninsured truck. I argued that State Farm was not entitled to a credit since Dan was not the title owner to the truck.

State Farm insured Kevin’s SUV with $10,000 in bodily injury liability (BIL) coverage. The State Farm BIL adjuster was Malissa Castaneda.

The hospital records said that Dan was wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash. This prevented State Farm from arguing that the value of his case should be reduced for not wearing a seat belt.

The hospital notes said that Dan complained of a headache and memory problems.

The hospital took a CT scan of his facial bones and brain. They didn’t show any issues.

Dan was diagnosed with a facial contusion (bruise), and a shoulder contusion and strain. He was given a sling for his shoulder.