Suffering a serious injury alters your life, and the lives of your family. As your medical and therapy bills pile up, your income decreases or even disappears. You may feel helpless, overwhelmed, and alone. You have many questions, but few answers:
You have probably received recommendations for attorneys from your family or friends, and these are certainly helpful, but you need attorneys who are experienced in handling injury cases. Being a good probate, divorce, or criminal lawyer does not mean the lawyer can handle your complex injury claim with all of the associated insurance issues.
Call Rutter & Russin. We will meet and talk with you for free, provide you advice, and make certain recommendations. We may be the best law firm for you or we may not. If we aren't, we'll suggest which firms are.
Rutter & Russin has years of experience successfully handling injury claims such as these:
The negligent driver went left-of-center, smashing into three motorcycles and severely injuring the six occupants. The damages were catastrophic, but the driver's insurance company argued that only one accident occurred and that the most it was liable for was $300,000 (the amount it argued was the policy limit for just one accident). Rutter & Russin thought the policy limits were more because more than one motorcycle had been struck and more than one accident had occurred. Rutter & Russin filed a lawsuit and argued the case all the way to the Ohio Supreme Court before finally getting a favorable decision and forcing the insurance company to pay an additional $200,000.
An elderly woman was getting into the front passenger seat of a car when her equally elderly friend began pulling away. The woman fell and broke her hip, and that injury seemed clear-cut. However, after her hip healed she began suffering from incontinence. The insurance company's doctor said that the incontinence had nothing to do with the accident, and the fact that it started shortly after the accident was merely a coincidence. Rutter & Russin worked with a board qualified urologist and a board certified orthopedic surgeon to establish that the client's broken hip also resulted in an injury to her lower back where the nerves controlling the bladder were located. The client received a $225,000 settlement shortly before the trial.
A 42-year-old father of three was injured when the van he was riding in went out of control and rolled off the highway. Although the man did not initially believe he was seriously injured, his condition deteriorated to the point where he was in constant pain and was unable to continue working. An MRI done over a year after the accident revealed that he had a compression fracture of one of his vertebrae. The insurance company hired a doctor to examine the man, then took the position that his back problems were the result of a degenerative arthritic condition, and totally unrelated to the accident. A jury trial resulted in a $505,000 verdict for the man and his family.
A negligent driver crashed his truck into the living room of a house, killing an eight-year old girl. The family's personal attorney obtained the driver's policy limits in a settlement, but was unable to convince the family's own uninsured motorists carrier that it owed its limits as well. The family turned to Rutter & Russin, who obtained a court of appeals ruling obligating the carrier to pay its full $500,000 policy limits.
A young widow with three children came to Rutter & Russin after her husband was killed in a head-on traffic accident. The wrongdoer's insurance company was dragging its feet, and her own insurance company was refusing to pay anything. Rutter & Russin took the case and recovered the wrongdoer's policy limits, then forced the widow's own insurance carrier to admit that it had coverage, resulting in a payment of over $3 million.
The insurance company blamed the disabled victim for an accident that occurred in a highway turnaround, and refused to pay anything. Rutter & Russin filed suit and, working with an accident reconstructionist, the state highway patrol, the victim's treating doctor, and a rehabilitation specialist, convinced the insurance company that its insured driver was probably at fault and that the victim was permanently disabled. The case settled before trial for $1.5 million.
A disabled woman and her attorney already had a multi-million dollar judgment when they came to Rutter & Russin. The problem was that they had nobody to collect it from. The wrongdoer was threatening bankruptcy and the wrongdoer's insurance companies were all denying liability. Rutter & Russin pursued the carriers all the way to the Ohio Supreme Court, and obtained a ruling that resulted in a confidential settlement.
Getting a full and fair insurance settlement for your injury can be a challenge. The attorneys at Rutter & Russin know how to fight insurance companies on behalf of policyholders. Contact us today for a free consultation.