In December, 2011, Stewart Lee Kreinke, 63, was riding his bicycle when he was struck by a tractor-trailer truck making a left turn into a driveway. The Plaintiff’s theory was that the defendant driver negligently turned into the driveway without stopping or ensuring there was no oncoming traffic. The Defendants argued that the driver did look for traffic before turning. With liability seeming certain in favor of the plaintiff, Defendants focused on damages. In particular, they contested the future medical expenses and attendant care because prior to the accident, Mr. Kreinke lived on the street and most likely suffered from a mental illness.
The primary objective for Mr. Booth and his team in this case was to reach a resolution as quickly as possible so that Mr. Kreinke, who had no health insurance and almost no money, could enjoy better quality medical and attendant care in addition to improved quality of life overall. Defense counsel initially represented the available insurance coverage to be $1 million. However, given the severity of the plaintiff’s injuries, the Booth team conducted their own research which revealed another $4 million in additional insurance coverage for a total of $5 million in coverage.
The plaintiff’s case was prepared in thorough detail including a life care plan, day-in-the-life video and medical illustrations. After defense counsel deposed the life care planner, Mr. Booth served a statutory settlement demand for the policy limits of $5 million. As the 30-day deadline approached on the demand, the defense requested mediation. Since the demand was non-negotiable, mediation was declined. The defense tendered the $5 million policy limits just before the deadline.
Upon resolving a number of settlement issues including a Medicare Set Aside and court approval of the settlement because Mr. Kreinke cannot communicate and is represented by a conservator, the proceeds are ready for distribution less than 18 months following the accident.
Our hats are off to Roger Booth for not only resolving the case for full policy limits but doing so in an almost unheard of time frame given the contested catastrophic damages. To read more about the important cases handled by Mr. Booth, click here.
We at Advocate Capital, Inc. hold trial lawyers like Roger Booth in the highest regard for pursuing justice on behalf of those injured due to the negligence of others.
Senior Vice President
