Defense Refuses to Pay Policy Limits Despite Fatal Crash Caught on Tape

An 80-year-old pediatrician raced down a residential street at night, traveling 5-10 mph over the speed limit. Down the road, a wedding reception was in full swing. The groom’s mother, Valinda, danced with her son, posed for photos with family, and toasted to the joyous marriage. Valinda and her husband stepped outside the reception to get something from their car parked across the street. Little did they know that tragedy was about to strike. Up the road, the pediatrician was roaring down the avenue and not slowing down. He careened into Valinda, crashing first into her thigh. Her torso hit the hood of the car. Valinda was then flipped over the hood of the car. Her head smashed into the windshield, shattering the glass.

The velocity of the car tossed Valinda nearly 50 feet through the air — only a hundred feet from her son’s wedding reception. Her body slammed into the ground with violent force. Tragically, she died instantly. A day marked for the celebration of a new matrimony ended with a broken family grieving a sudden loss.

The family desperately needed help after the accident. James Harrington, the president and CEO of Fieger Law, joined the case once the defense began to heavily contest the matter. Initially, the case had been assigned to a trial lawyer at the firm who worked up the discovery phase. But James took over the leading role once the case hit the court of appeals.

James reviewed the materials and depositions. The case was exceptionally strong and winnable. However, while working it up, an aspect of the case started to bother him: while the police and experts agreed that the defendant had been speeding, James sensed that breaking the speed limit by only 5-10 mph might not be enough to sway jurors. He recognized that most people speed a little bit from time to time, even on side streets. Harping solely on that point could potentially feel inauthentic to a jury. James shifted his thinking and began to question why the pediatrician had not seen Valinda. Security video outside of the reception hall had captured the whole event. The victim and her husband were clearly visible. It occurred to James that the case hinged not on the defendant’s speeding but on what he actually saw while behind the wheel.

Time until the trial was short, and James had less than two months to prepare the new line of argument. He brought on an accident reconstruction expert, who was a former police trooper and famously particular about details. James wanted the expert not only to have a demonstrative to accompany his testimony, but an accurate 3D reconstruction that could be admitted as evidence. By having the demonstrative admitted, a jury could take it back with them during deliberations and review it multiple times. James turned to DK Global for help: he needed a highly accurate reconstruction, and he needed it turned around in just two weeks.

DK Global worked with the accident reconstruction expert to ensure every detail — including the exact lumens of light in the scene — was scientifically accurate. The demonstrative opened with the reception hall’s security video, which captured the collision. Then, a replay of the footage separated Valinda and her husband from the grainy background by highlighting their bodies. After which, a 3D reconstruction replayed the scene with a close-up of the victim along with clearer viewing angles. Next, an overhead replay calculated how far Valinda’s body was carried by the impact. Following this, a slow-motion angle showed which parts of Valinda’s body struck the car’s hood and windshield. During the impacts, an internalized view provided a glimpse at which organs and bones were damaged. The final shot revealed Valinda’s body lying in the street.

James found it strange that the defense refused to offer a reasonable settlement; the most they were willing to pay was $300,000 out of the $1,500,000 policy limit. Given the unfair offer, James suspected someone on the defense team had made the decision to try the case. Then, a week before the pretrial conference, James disclosed the animation to the defense. When the two parties convened before the judge, the defense attorney declared he was willing to offer $1,000,000. However, James refused to budge from taking the full policy limits, even when the judge privately pressed him to do so. Twenty minutes later, the defense returned and agreed to settle the case for the $1,500,000 policy limit. James and the family were pleased to see the case settled rather than having to go through the expenses of a trial to ultimately get the same results

James Harrington is the president and CEO of Fieger Law, where he represents personal injury, civil rights, police brutality, medical malpractice, and many other types of cases. He has obtained numerous multi-million-dollar verdicts and settlements, including verdicts of $17.5 million and $15.5 million in vehicle accident cases, $9.5 million in a general negligence case, and $3.5 million in a federal civil rights case. James has won multiple awards, including the annual Super Lawyers recognition.