Taking it to the House

We have a new television commercial on the airways in which John Basilone stands in a courtroom and assures folks that if insurance companies won’t offer his clients what an accidental injury claim is worth, he is more than willing to present the case to a jury.

Well, he means it, as this past week has shown.

His client’s claim wasn’t that big, as cases go, and involved a routine auto accident in which the other driver was clearly at fault. John’s client’s injuries were manageable, but did require medical treatment. He sought reimbursement for the cost of the medical treatment.

The insurance company (Allstate) refused to offer enough money to pay medical expenses! If that was a bluff, John called it. In fact, he upped the ante by filing the case in federal court, where these smaller cases don’t usually get filed. Most plaintiffs’ attorneys don’t go there in routine cases because it takes significant extra time and effort to comply with the procedures that must be followed to litigate in federal as opposed to state court.

After a two-day jury trial, the insurance company representative in the courtroom watched as the jury awarded John’s client $40,000.00, almost four times Allstate’s final offer. This was more than enough to not only pay all of the medical bills, but also provide additional compensation for the pain and suffering his client endured.

Congratulations, John. That’s “taking it to the house”!