Children of a Retired Police Officer Were Awarded $1,000,000 After the Insurance Company Originally Denied Their Claim

How can this happen to us? That’s just what Joe, Brenda, and Judy, the surviving teenage children of a retired police officer and his wife said to us when their parents were both killed in a terrible accident after being struck broadside by a large semi-tractor trailer on a rain-soaked highway. What was to be a day of family fun and snow skiing turned out to be the worst day of their lives.

To make matters worse, our initial telephone conversation with the insurance company representing the truck driver (who wasn’t even hurt) denied any responsibility at all for the accident. They said the accident was the entire fault of our clients’ parents! Even the police report cited our clients’ parents as being primarily at fault.

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We then learned that although the other side wasn’t accepting responsibility for this accident, they had one of their insurance representatives go to the hospital and try to “convince” Joe (who was recovering from very serious injuries) that he should settle his case, right then and there, for $100,000! Joe told us that even though he told the insurance representative that he couldn’t remember a thing about the accident, had no idea what his injuries were and with all the medication in him couldn’t think clearly, the insurance representative continued to tell him that settling his claim was the smart thing to do. That if he didn’t accept the money right then and there, they wouldn’t offer it again to him in the future.

Joe didn’t settle his claim and frankly, after further investigation, the police report just didn’t make sense to us. Our review of the facts clearly led us to believe that the truck driver was operating his large semi unsafely on the day of this accident; especially after rain the night before had left the highway wet and slippery! We instantly filed a lawsuit and started going to work for our new young clients. They needed all the help they could get.

A Closer Look Changed Everything

During our investigation, we discovered in several investigators’ notes the name of an off-duty paramedic who was also on his way up to the local ski area and who had seen the entire accident. For some reason, the police hadn’t taken his formal statement or included what he had seen in their final accident report. The paramedic testified under oath that before the fatal collision, the truck had been traveling at about 70 mph and was changing lanes unsafely.

We also checked out the driving record of the other driver. It was terrible. The defense attorneys for the other side didn’t even know of his poor driving history. This guy had tickets all over the place for speeding and other unsafe actions.

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To make a very long story short, we were able to get the other insurance company to settle our clients’ claims for $1,000,000.00. The settlement funds were placed into annuities, which now provide each child with a safe long-term monthly non-taxable recovery. While their lives will never be the same, financially they’ll have sufficient funds to go to school and survive for the rest of their lives.

Why You Should Never Accept the First Offer

This case is a powerful reminder of a lesson we see proven again and again: the insurance company’s first move is to protect its own money, not your family. Sending a representative to a hospital room to press a seriously injured, heavily medicated teenager to sign away his claim for $100,000 was not a kindness—it was a calculated attempt to close the case cheaply before anyone understood what had really happened. A quick offer made under pressure, with a warning that it “won’t be offered again,” is a signal to slow down and get advice, not to sign.

A Police Report Is Not the Final Word

Many people assume that if the police report assigns fault, the matter is settled. It is not. A police report is one officer’s account, assembled quickly and sometimes without every witness or every fact. In this case, the report blamed the victims—yet a key eyewitness had never been interviewed, and the truck driver’s dangerous history was never considered. An experienced attorney knows a report can be wrong, and knows how to dig until the full picture emerges.

How an Independent Investigation Wins Cases

What turned this case around was work, not luck. Tracking down the off-duty paramedic, securing his sworn testimony, and uncovering the driver’s record of speeding and unsafe driving gave the family the evidence the police report had left out. Truck crash cases hinge on this kind of investigation—locating overlooked witnesses, obtaining the driver’s record and the trucking company’s files, and preserving evidence before it disappears. That evidence is what forces an insurer to move from a flat denial to a seven-figure settlement.

If You Have Lost a Loved One in a Truck Accident

If an insurance company has denied your claim, blamed your family, or pressured you to settle before you understand your rights, do not give up and do not sign anything first. The outcome of a case can change completely once the real facts come to light. Call our office toll-free today for a free consultation. We will listen to what happened, answer your questions, and evaluate the true strength of your case—just as we did for Joe, Brenda, and Judy.