Partner Allan M. Siegel Gets Full Policy Limits In A Case Involving A Mild Closed Head Injury

by | Jul 1, 2009

On June 24, 2009 a Montgomery County Circuit Court jury awarded $100,000 to a man who suffered a mild closed head injury as a result a car crash which occurred in Silver Spring, Maryland. Our client was proceeding through an intersection on a green light, when the Defendant ran a red light, striking our client’s vehicle on the driver’s side door. There was extensive damage to our client’s vehicle and he was trapped inside his car for approximately 30 minutes until the emergency medical technicians cut him out. He was taken to the hospital by ambulance where he was diagnosed with a mild closed head injury , (or concussion) without loss of consciousness. Shortly after the accident he began having problems with his memory. He would see people who had known for years, and would not be able to remember their names. He would lose his keys and cell phone frequently. He also had problems remembering things he had read, or following the plots of movies or television shows. He went to see a neurologist, who recommended that he have neuropsychological testing, which demonstrated that he was suffering from the residual effects of the head injury that was diagnosed at the hospital. The neurologist recommended nuerocognitive rehabilitation, which is therapy which helps retrain the brain after injury. Our client significantly improved but continued to have deficits which required him to write things down, and resulted in it taking longer for him to remember names and certain words.

The Defendant had insurance of $100,000. Mr. Siegel insisted, since the beginning of the case, that the insurance company must pay their full policy limits to settle the case. The insurance company refused. They claimed that since the head injury was classified as “mild” at the hospital, and since our client had no external or visible signs of a head injury, that his cognitive complaints were not caused by the accident. (The CT scan at the hospital was normal, and there was no loss of consciousness reported at the hospital) They offered our client $33,000 leading up to trial, and raised the offer to $60,000 on the morning of trial. Mr. Siegel insisted that the fair value of the claim was their insurance policy limits of $100,000. The jury agreed and entered a verdict in the amount of $100,000.

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