After Tom Bassey was severely injured in a motorcycle accident two years ago, he thought his life was over - three fractured vertebrae in his spine, and an injury to his spinal cord that left him incontinent, impotent and partially paralyzed. How could something like this happen? He was just riding home after picking up some food for supper and now he didn't know if he would ever walk again.
The accident happened as Tom was riding through the center of a small, rural town when the driver of a car pulled out from a parking lot right into his path. To add insult to injury, the investigating police officer gave Tom a ticket for speeding and cited him for causing the accident. The police even listed excuses for the car operator in the accident report!
The prejudice that we all know exists against motorcyclists often obscures the true facts as they occurred. When John Haymond visited Tom in the hospital, he sensed that Tom's story rang true while the police reports had discrepancies. Our attorneys completed a thorough investigation of the accident and located three independent eyewitnesses, whose testimony all showed that even if Bassey was going a little too fast on his motorcycle, the operator of the car should have seen him coming and yielded the right of way to an oncoming vehicle.
A lawsuit was filed in Bassey's behalf after the defendant's insurance company denied all liability and refused to pay anything, despite Tom's severe injuries, staggering medical bills and permanent loss of his ability to do his previous job. Our investigators located several witnesses to the accident and gathered evidence. Multiple sworn statements and depositions were taken and the police were carefully questioned under oath. After the defendant was forced to testify, the truth finally began to emerge.
Sensing that we had the insurance company on the run and knowing that the defendant had a $500,000 policy of liability insurance, John Haymond states, "We introduced evidence that Tom was a stable member of the community that he worked for the same company for many years, and expected to make a life for himself. He had a fiancé and was engaged to be married. We gave the insurance company 30 days to settle the case for $450,000 or risk paying the whole policy after trial. They paid!
Today Tom is still recovering. He and his fiancé are planning to marry soon and they are in continuing therapy to deal with Tom's functional disabilities. To say that Tom is pleased with the settlement is to ignore his infirmities. As he points out, "I wish it had never happened, but this helps me get a new start. We're going to buy a house and I'm going to continue school, maybe something in the medical field."
How did he feel about the way his case was handled? "From the minute Mr. Haymond came to my hospital room I knew I was in good hands. Nobody believed my story but him. At the law office I was treated like one of the family. I always got answers to my questions and my calls were always returned. I was able to concentrate on my therapy and not worry about the case."
Now that the case is over, Tom says, "The Haymond Law Firm not only got me an incredible financial result, they also restored my pride." And how about the legal and technical aspects of the case? "Awesome!" Tom exclaimed, "Just awesome!"
*Some names and details have been changed to protect confidentiality. While we can’t guarantee the same results… we can assure you the same effort.