Auto Accident Claim / Intoxicated Driver

Our client was riding in the front passenger seat of a pickup in Redmond, Oregon. They were stopped at a signal, waiting to turn left, when another driver crashed into the back of the truck at an estimated 40 miles per hour.

Police determined the other driver was intoxicated. In the criminal case that followed, the driver pled guilty to DUI and related charges tied to creating a substantial risk of serious physical injury.

The at-fault driver's insurance coverage was limited, and it was quickly clear it would not fully account for what our client was dealing with. After the $25,000 liability limits were tendered, the case shifted to our client's UIM coverage through their own insurer.

From there, the key issue wasn't whether the crash happened, it was whether the insurer would accept the full scope of the harm as crash-related, including serious vascular and neurological complications that the insurer was expected to attribute to an unrelated medical condition.

• The UIM carrier was expected to argue the vascular and neurological complications were not caused by the crash, but by an underlying medical condition.
• The injuries were complex, and the case required careful medical support to connect trauma to the vascular injury and resulting physical impact.
• The dispute also included a coverage fight over whether punitive damages could be pursued through the UIM claim, and when the insurance company wouldn't agree to it, we filed suit.

With the liability coverage exhausted, the case moved forward as a UIM dispute. The parties would have agreed to binding arbitration to resolve the damages, but because the insurance company refused to acknowledge that punitive-damages are recoverable in a UIM dispute, it created an additional legal fight that had to be addressed in court.

The matter ultimately resolved through mediation. The settlement included a $375,000 payment from the UIM carrier and a dismissal of the litigation with prejudice.

The case resolved with a total recovery of $400,000, made up of:

• $25,000 from the at-fault driver's liability insurer (the full amount available under that policy); and
• $375,000 from the UIM carrier in settlement of the UIM dispute.

The settlement resolved the claims arising from the crash, which included serious neck injury and a vertebral artery dissection that treating providers connected to the crash.

For our client, this result meant real breathing room to help with medical expenses, and recognition that the most serious consequences of the crash couldn't be brushed aside as something else. It also allowed her to step out of ongoing litigation and focus on treatment, monitoring, and day-to-day life after an injury that changed her health going forward.