Fighting for the “Little Guy”

In an unnecessary scenario last fall, Donna Bowen went toe-to-toe with Farmers Insurance in a full-blown jury trial over what should have been a simple insurance claim for reasonable medical expenses after a car wreck.

“Our client’s lawsuit and resulting jury trial became necessary because the defendant’s insurance company refused to pay our client’s claim for medical expenses, although the defendant admitted liability immediately after the accident,” Bowen said. “We drew the line and told Farmers we were going to trial with this one.”

Taking a hard-line approach, the insurance company hired an accident reconstruction expert to contradict the defendant’s liability and a medical expert to dispute the necessity of our client’s medical payments.

“There’s no telling how much the insurers spent to avoid paying this claim, although they knew they were liable from Day One. Our client’s medical expenses were entirely in line with the nature of his injuries and included emergency-room treatment, a follow-up visit and a short course in physical therapy,” Bowen said.

“It was difficult to seat a jury because of negative attitudes toward this type of case. But at day’s end, the jury turned in a verdict on our client’s behalf in the amount of $7,700.25,” Bowen said.