Mediating Rosendo and Minerva’s Denied Liability Claim

In December 2017, Rosendo and Minerva were driving east on Business 77 towards their house in San Benito. At the same time, a second driver was stopped at the flashing red traffic light at the southbound entrance into the intersection of Business 77 and McCullough Road. 

Since my clients had a flashing yellow light, the other driver should have stopped to yield the right-of-way to them and all other east and westbound traffic. Unfortunately, the other driver negligently disregarded the red light and tried to cross Business 77 even though my clients were already very close to the intersection. As a result of the other driver’s negligence, my clients crashed into the side of his truck. While the other driver was—and still is—adamant that he did not cause the collision, the responding police officer attributed 100% responsibility of the crash to him and cited him for failure to yield the right-of-way.

Following the crash, the other driver pleaded guilty to the citation and paid a fine to the municipal court. However, he continued to tell his liability carrier that my clients caused the collision. Based solely on the driver’s statement, the insurance company disregarded the objective evidence and denied my clients’ claim. As a result, my firm filed a lawsuit to help them recover damages for their injuries and the loss of their car. After exchanging discovery and deposing the at-fault driver, my firm successfully convinced opposing counsel and the insurance adjuster that the other driver’s negligence caused the collision and my clients’ resulting damages. Thanks to the help of mediator Michael A. Zanca, my office settled Rosendo and Minerva’s claim in early December. 

As a side note, Rosendo and Minerva initially hired an out-of-town attorney to help with their claim. However, they fired the attorney after only several weeks, and they later called my old office for help with their lingering pain and property damage. While a personal injury client has the right to fire his or her lawyer, a crash victim essentially assigns a portion of the claim to the lawyer under a contingency fee agreement. This arrangement allows the attorney to keep a pecuniary interest in the claim—and, most importantly, the settlement—if the client terminates the representation without sufficient cause. In this case, my clients believed they had good cause to fire their first attorney, but the attorney disagreed. Although my office settled this case in December without any help from the prior attorney, the attorney’s insistence on maintaining an interest prevented us from closing this claim until today—almost seven weeks after mediation.

Whether a client has cause to fire an attorney is almost always debatable and never easy to prove. Unfortunately, this debate usually results in the client’s having to wait longer than usual to receive any settlement proceeds. The best way to avoid this conflict is to hire an experienced injury lawyer who has your best interests at heart immediately after a car wreck. If someone else’s negligence has injured you or a loved one, you have enough things to worry about. Do not let negotiating with an insurance company be one of them. We deal with the insurance company so you can focus on getting your life back to normal. You have one chance to do this; make the right choice by choosing the right attorney. Call us at (956) 291-7870 or email us at contact@rdjlawyer.com for a free consultation and case evaluation.