A car accident can result in considerable visible property damage, but it could also result in little visible property damage. However, what you see may not be correct.
Attorney Lorrie Robinson and I just finished a jury trial in a rear-end car accident case where State Farm was claiming that our client could not have been hurt because there was little visible damage to her rear bumper. In fact, even the client believed there was little property damage and wondered how she could have injured her neck, back, shoulder and developed carpal tunnel syndrome requiring surgery if there was no property damage to her vehicle.
After removing the plastic bumper cover of her Saturn VUE, the answer was clear. Despite there being little visible property damage to the plastic bumper cover, we were able to see that the impact she sustained in the rear-end collision resulted in damage to the bumper absorber, the bumper reinforcement and the rear body panel--that is, the impact was severe enough to crush metal four layers deep!! No wonder she was in pain.
This case is a lesson on how important investigation is after a car accident. Had we not been able to show the jury how this rear-end car accident was severe enough to crush metal, it is unlikely that we would have secured a verdict eight time higher than State Farm's last settlement offer.
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Attorney Matthew Noyes has been helping those injured in car accidents, motorcycle accidents, slip and falls, and other types of accidents for nearly 20 years. His Clearwater personal injury law firm -- Perenich, Caulfield, Avril & Noyes -- has been serving the Tampa Bay area since 1955. Click here to contact Attorney Matthew Noyes for a free consultation or simply call 727-796-8282.
