Motorcycle Accident Results in $250,000 Settlement

Apr 29, 2021
McDonald Injury Law

This is a personal injury claim arising out of a motorcycle crash where the injured party sustained severe injuries including: multiple rib fractures, subdural hematoma/brain bleed,  collapsed vertebrae, contusion of the lung, and a laceration to his left leg. Richmond based law firm Geoff McDonald and Associates used the risk of bad faith litigation in their favor to quickly secure a tender of the $250,000 policy limits. 

In mid-July the injured party was traveling on a motorcycle through western Virginia when he was struck by a motorist making a left hand turn across multiple lanes of oncoming traffic. This collision resulted in a T-bone style crash that launched the motorcyclist from his motorcycle. Paramedics arrived at the scene and took the injured party to a nearby local hospital. The injured party was then triaged and airlifted to a level one trauma center where he spent the next days under intensive hospital care. 

Moving quickly, the attorneys at Geoff McDonald and Associates realized the necessity to promptly settle the claim for no less than the liability insurer’s policy limits. After an initial conversation between the attorney and the insurance company in which the insurance company balked at tendering the liability limits, a bad faith demand letter was sent to the insurer as well as the insureds. The short three-page demand letter outlined the insurance company’s responsibility to settle the claim within the policy limits and that any failure to do so may result in an excess judgment at trial – for which the insured would be responsible for. The letter also informed the insured of their right to excess judgment counsel in the event of a verdict that exceeds their policy limits. 

Within a week of the insurance company’s receipt of the demand letter, an offer to tender the entirety of the $250,000 liability policy was made to avoid litigation.