Car cuts off Motorcycle - $200,000 Settlement (Policy Limits)

Our client was operating his Harley Davidson motorcycle on Huntington Street in New London when a car driver turned left directly in front of him. He suffered severe fractures to his hip and dislocated shoulder amongst other injuries. The broken hip required immediate surgery, the placement of permanent surgical hardware in the hip joint and blood transfusions. He was hospitalized for 16 days. His mobility was severely limited for several months requiring use of a wheelchair, walker and crutches. He underwent substantial physical therapy after the accident but ultimately needed a second surgery for ongoing hip problems several months later. He was disabled from work for six months. His medical bills totaled over $90,000.

The car driver was a young man in his twenties, he was operating his parents' car on the night of the accident. The parents had in place an insurance policy with USAA Ins. Co. on the car in the amount of $100,000. Their insurance company quickly offered to pay the policy limits to our client to settle the claim. Neither the car driver or his parents held any significant financial assets, in fact they had recently been declared bankrupt. Attorney Shelley Graves was determined however to try to do more and she undertook an exhaustive search in an effort to obtain further monies for her motorcyclist client. Her investigation led to the discovery that at the time of the accident the young driver may have been living with his grandmother.

This opened up the possibility that the grandmother's automobile insurance might provide coverage for the motorcycle accident under the "resident relative" provisions of the policy. Attorney Graves' instincts and legal know-how paid off. Though the grandmother steadfastly denied her grandson had been living her, Attorney Graves was able to provide sufficient proof to the insurance company (which also turned out to be USAA Ins. Co.) to persuade it to also tender the grandmother's policy limits of $100,000, making for a total recovery of $200,000 for her client.