Personal Injury Car Accident Verdict in DeKalb County, Illinois Exceeds Insurance Policy
A personal injury lawyer in DeKalb County recently received a nice verdict in an auto accident case, according to the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin. The car crash happened when the defendant pulled out of a stop sign and failed to yield to the oncoming plaintiff who had the right of way. The plaintiff claimed he was traveling the posted speed limit on Perry Road in DeKalb, Illinois. The defendant admitted negligence at trial, but he contested the amount of damages sought.
Before trial, the plaintiff demanded the amount of the defendants insurance policy to settle the claim, which was 50,000. However, the defendant would only offer $20,000 to settle. The jury awarded the plaintiff $74,740. The verdict was in Cyril Ward v. Ronnie Davenport, DeKalb County Case No. 04 L 77. The defendant was insured by Allstate.
There are a couple things worth commenting about this case. First, under Illinois law it is the duty of the driver coming out of a stop sign to yield to oncoming traffic. I know that sounds obvious, but I receive a lot of phone calls from drivers who tell me that they were very careful pulling out of the stop sign, and then another car just came out of nowhere and hit them. Then they want to know if they have a case, and I have to explain to them why they do not. The burden is on the driver coming out of a stop sign to make sure traffic is clear. There are some exceptions where negligence can be alleged (excessive speed by the other driver), but they are hard to come by.
Next, it will be interesting to see what the plaintiff's attorney does in this case with the excess verdict. He can either attempt to collect the amount in excess of the insurance policy directly from the defendant, or he can explore a bad faith claim against the defendant's insurance company for not settling the case before trial within the limits of the $50,000 policy. He could also explore an underinsured motorist claim against the plaintiff's own insurance policy if the plaintiff had insurance coverage greater than $50,000.
These comments were posted by David Abels & Associates, P.C., a personal injury law firm that represents clients throughout the Chicago area and the entire State of Illinois. Many of our clients come from Cook County, Lake County, DuPage County, McHenry County, Kane County, and Will County, as well as nearby towns and neighborhoods such as the Saint Charles, Geneva, West Chicago, Glendale Heights, Wood Dale, Bensenville, Elmhurst and Addison.
Accident lawyers from our firm handle all kinds of injuries resulting from car crashes, including fractures (some that require surgical repair), lacerations, back and neck injuries, and severe burns. They also handle wrongful death cases for families who have lost loved ones because another person was negligent and caused a fatal motor vehicle accident.
