Fort Collins Personal Injury Lawyer

Case Study

“ANNE”

a traumatic brain injury

Like all our case studies, Anne (not her real name) consented to us using the details of her case to explain to potential clients how Cannon Law handles cases. We want you to understand how we work so that you can make an informed decision about whether we are the right fit for you.

Anne Hired Sam Cannon In Early 2016

She had been T-boned by a careless driver almost three years earlier in Fort Collins, CO, suffering a traumatic brain injury. Anne had been trying to handle her case herself throughout that time.  After the insurance company had strung her along for years, they then only offered her a fraction of what her case was worth. In Colorado, the personal injury statute of limitations is three years. Because of that, Anne had a tough time finding an attorney who would take her case because of how close the statute of limitations was. Luckily, one firm who rejected Anne’s case referred her to Sam.

When I met Anne, there was only about a month left before the statute of limitations expired. If that happened, the claim would have gone away forever. I knew I had to act fast to keep the case alive.

Complicating The Case Further Was Anne’s Medical History

The car crash was the third brain injury she had suffered. The insurance company had latched onto this fact to claim that Anne wasn’t any worse after the crash than before. They thought she was making it up and trying to scam them.

It always looked likely that Anne would have to file a lawsuit to get the compensation she deserved, but we didn’t want to do that without trying to resolve the case first. Litigation is super stressful, especially for people suffering from brain injuries. So, Sam contacted the insurance company for the driver that injured Anne. From that first call, the insurance adjuster made it clear she didn’t believe Anne had a brain injury caused by the car crash.

Sam says, “Even at that early stage, it was clear the insurance company didn’t want to give Anne what she was entitled to. They preferred to believe Anne was faking rather than she was actually hurt. So we decided we’d force them to hand over what Anne deserved.”

A few weeks after Anne hired him, Sam filed her lawsuit in Larimer County District Court.

One of the most important stages of a lawsuit is witness disclosure. That means telling the other side who your witnesses are and generally what they’re going to say at trial. In Anne’s case, we knew this was going to be key to winning her case. Instead of just naming Anne’s close family as witnesses to her injuries and suffering, Sam dug deep. He sat down with Anne and her husband to talk about her life and all the ways the crash had affected her.

“We must have had a dozen meetings in my conference room,” Sam says. “Anne would come in, we’d talk about her life before the accident and compare it to after. We’d talk about road trips with family, teaching art, her plans to move to Texas, all of it. Ultimately, I got a list of about 15 names of people who could tell compelling stories about Anne’s injuries. Among them were three Benedictine nuns Anne volunteered for.”

The Next Step Was Calling Those Witnesses

Sam personally called everyone on the list, introduced himself, and asked the witnesses what they knew about Anne. Every single one said Anne was a changed person after the crash. Taking the time to listen to Anne’s story paid off. The real turning point of the case was when we disclosed detailed information from Sam’s interviews of the nuns. Soon after that, the other side decided they didn’t want to go to trial and they offered over 250% of their pre-lawsuit offer to resolve the case. Not wanting to go through the stress of trial, Anne accepted the offer.

Not satisfied with that though, we pushed on. You see, Anne had bought underinsured motorist insurance herself. This covered her if she was injured by someone without enough insurance to cover her damages. This was certainly true in this case. Even though we settled for less than the other driver’s insurance policy limit, we still made a claim on Anne’s insurance.

Again The Insurance Company Didn’t Believe Anne

They offered her something, but only a token amount. Now at this stage, we would usually consider filing a second lawsuit. But in this case, we knew the first one had been hard on Anne. She struggled with the paperwork and the stress of her deposition. At one point, the other lawyer even shouted at her when he didn’t believe Anne was answering his questions. She was understandably scared about going through that again.

In the end, after lots of discussions, Anne said she couldn’t go through with a second lawsuit and instructed us to do the best we could in negotiating a settlement.

“This was hard. As lawyers, we’re most comfortable in the courtroom. There are rules, there’s a jury, and there’s a judge. When negotiations break down, we file a lawsuit. That’s right from the trial lawyer playbook. But we couldn’t do that here because it wasn’t what was best for Anne’s recovery.”

So we had to rewrite the playbook. We had to change an insurance company’s mind about Anne’s condition. We decided the best way to do that was to keep offering more information.

Sam spoke to the adjuster and simply asked, “What can I do to change your mind?” We kept providing new information, kept answering their questions, and kept pressing them to justify their belief that Anne didn’t suffer permanent injuries in the car crash.

Finally, More Than A Year After We Settled The First Case, Anne’s Insurance Company Came Around

We persuaded them to reexamine the claim like new, and they saw the truth. Anne suffered a traumatic brain injury in the crash, and her life was changed. After some negotiations, they offered even more money than the driver’s insurance company did. When Anne picked up the final check, she thanked us for getting her the money. But more than that, she thanked us for listening to her and believing her story.

Anne’s Claim By The Numbers:

• 830% increase in settlement offers after Anne retained Sam.
• 867 days Sam represented Anne.
• 27 letters written to Anne’s own insurance company.
• 11 disclosure statements filed in the first court case.