We recently recovered a $1 million policy limits settlement from First Auto & Casualty Insurance on behalf of a well deserving client.. Our client was involved in a single car accident in Clay County, Missouri with one of his co-workers as they were heading to a job site.
They were driving a company owned van traveling northbound in the left lane on Interstate 35 when the driver, our client’s co-worker, lost control of the vehicle and ran off the left side of the road, causing their vehicle to collide with the end of the guardrail. After striking the guardrail the vehicle spun out and hit the guardrail a second time before finally stopping in the right lane of the road.
What made this case tricky is that in Missouri, there is “Co-Employee Immunity” for work injuries. So most of the time when you’re in an accident like this, recovery would be limited to benefits afforded under Missouri Workers’ Compensation law. In this case, the at fault driver was a co-worker so making a claim against the employer’s commercial policy would normally be barred. After investigating coverage for this claim, we discovered our client’s employer did not pay their employees for commute time despite being in the company owned vehicle. As a result, we were able to pursue a claim against the employer’s umbrella policy with a much better recovery.
When someone trusts us with their case we have a duty to get them the best result possible. Our duty always starts with doing a thorough case investigation. At first glance, this accident appeared to be a work injury which would have resulted in a significantly lower recovery. It’s always satisfying when the process works and our client recovers much more than he expected.
If you know anyone who has been injured we always appreciate referrals and the opportunity to help. Our office will always listen to you and help you decide the best way to proceed, you can reach us at (636) 519-0085. Our attorneys work on a contingency basis, which means that there are no upfront costs or legal fees!
