Auto Accident

$300,000 in Full Policy Limits Recovered After a Drunk Driver Rear-Ended Our Stopped Client

Attorney Leda Elhassan secured $300,000 in full policy limits for a client who was rear-ended by an intoxicated driver in Erath County. Our client was stopped at a red light on S Graham Avenue when the defendant, traveling in the same direction, lost control and slammed into the back of her car. The defendant was charged with DWI. Our client’s treatment included pain management injections, and her physician recommended surgery.

WHAT THE INSURANCE COMPANY ARGUED

Liability was clear, but the insurer found another angle. Our client was noted to have smelled of alcohol during her emergency room visit, and even though the defendant was the one charged with DWI, the insurer used that detail as a reason to push back and undervalue the claim. After we submitted an initial demand, the highest pre-litigation offer was $132,900, less than half of the available policy limits.

HOW THE CASE WAS WON

Attorney Elhassan filed suit and issued two Stowers demands, a legal tool that puts an insurer on notice that failing to tender policy limits could expose it to liability beyond the policy. The adjuster declined both and kept pressuring our client to accept the lower offer. Attorney Elhassan then escalated by taking the matter directly to opposing counsel, and that direct line of communication broke the impasse. The insurer tendered the full $300,000 policy limits, more than double its highest pre-litigation offer.

Past results do not guarantee future outcomes. Every case is unique.