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2.3 Million Settlement- DUI Driver Injury

This is the story of John Church and his family. John suffered multiple catastrophic injuries when an intoxicated driver crossed the center line and collided with John’s car head-on. John spent 8 days in the hospital, 6 weeks in a rehab facility, and 31 months unable to work.

John and his wife Candice initially thought they could handle the claim on their own, but they quickly realized the insurance company would not pay without a serious threat of litigation. Fortunately, John found the Dubin Law Group. We joined forces with Karen Koehler and together we prepared to take the case to trial.

As the case developed, it became clear that it was the other driver’s fault, but it took several years of work to get the insurance company to pay its limits. Ultimately we were able to recover $2.3 million from the intoxicated driver’s insurance and an additional $500,000 from the Church’s own insurance for a total recovery of $2.8 million.

John has made a good recovery from his injuries, and he has been able to return to work, but he will always suffer from the consequences of the injuries he needlessly suffered as a result of the other driver’s indifference and recklessness. The money we were able to recover for John will hopefully allow him to get the care he needs and to move forward with his life.

I was leaving work and was struck by a car crossing the center line, hitting me head-on. I was at work and I missed the phone call so I checked my voice mail and it was a Sheriff who had left a message for me telling me that John had been in a car accident.

My right leg was broken and exposed. I broke the top of my pelvis. I broke the ball of my humerus. I had hairline and crush fractures all along the left side of my left foot. What John experienced is catastrophic, multi-trauma injuries that permanently changed the trajectory of his life.

I have a personal friend who is a contract lawyer call me and say “did you get a lawyer yet?” and I said “I don’t need a lawyer, this is obviously not our fault.” It’s very unusual for the insurance company just to hand over the money, even if the injuries are as serious and obvious as they were for John. Usually the insurance companies, they don’t want to pay. We’re here to handle the frustration and the anxiety and put our clients at ease. We try to insulate them from the ugliness of the legal system. As much was taken off of our plates as possible to make the transition about my recovery rather than about trying to figure out what we were gonna do for money, what we were gonna do for the accident. Making sure he’s getting the treatment he needs and that there’s not undue stress put on John or his family as a result of the legal process. It gave us the time to just be a family and heal.

They were able to negotiate a settlement with the insurance company for 2.3 million dollars, which was far, you know, beyond my wildest expectations. They’ve all been super helpful, very responsive, and incredibly polite. I honestly felt that he wanted to see the wrong righted and it was very clear that there was a plan in place all along, and the best part is that I didn’t have to know anything about it.

I’m not a lawyer. I know nothing about law. And if I had been left to my own devices nothing would have turned out anywhere near as well as it did. Being able to maximize our settlement gives us some peace of mind. Things aren’t back to normal, but they’re, I think they’re as close to normal as they’re going to get. And money can’t ever undo what they’ve gone through and what they continue to go through, but hopefully it makes it a little easier. And they know they can get the care they need, they can make accommodations for the limitations and they can get on with their lives.

I have nothing but praise and appreciation for everything Matt did.