From a $10,000 Offer to a $750,000 Settlement

Truck Accident Settlement in Atlanta GA

When a Staples truck rolled through a stop sign in Atlanta GA and collided with our client’s car, the accident hurt our client’s back. He ended up with multiple herniated discs. Over the next couple years, he would have injections, therapy, and back surgery. Making Staples and their insurance company pay for the injuries they caused took even longer than that.

Staples, Inc. and it’s insurer, ACE American Insurance (aka Chubb) denied that they were at fault–even though the police officer had given the Staples driver a citation. So we started digging. We found out not only that the Staples driver had pled guilty to that ticket, but that the driver Staples had hired had no commercial license, had been reprimanded by Staples for causing the collision, and had a long, long record of traffic violations and causing accidents.

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We took the case. Our client hoped to resolve the case relatively soon, so we agreed with Staples and their insurance company to go to an early mediation. After our client had been forced to stop working as a carpenter, undergo many injections, endure serious spinal pain, and have hardware inserted into his lower back, we hoped Staples and its insurer would take the truck accident seriously.

They didn’t. Their top offer at mediation was $10,000.

We got to work.

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We forced Staples to dig deep into its files and produce its own “Staples Drivers Manual,” which proved that this truck qualified as a “commercial motor vehicle”–which required Staples to run a background check on its driver. We cross-examined a representative of Staples about its driver and the collision. We took the for-trial deposition of our client’s surgeon, who described his surgery for the video camera and confirmed that the collision with the Staples truck is what injured our client’s back. We obtained the admissible, sworn report of our client’s pain management doctor about the future medical treatment that our client would need.

The Court gave us a trial date. We were ready. But the week before trial, Staples and its insurance company started to think a little differently.

The case settled for $750,000 two business days before trial. From $10,000 to $750,000. It’s funny how that happens–hard work pays off.

Jeb Butler

Jeb Butler’s career as a Georgia trial lawyer has led to a $150 million verdict in a product liability case against Chrysler for a dangerous vehicle design that caused the death of a child, a $45 million settlement for a young man who permanently lost the ability to walk and talk, and numerous other verdicts and settlements, many of which are confidential at the defendant’s insistence. Jeb has worked on several cases that led to systemic changes and improvements in public safety. He has been repeatedly recognized as a Georgia SuperLawyer and ranks among Georgia’s legal elite. Jeb graduated in the top 10% of his class at UGA Law, argued on the National Moot Court team, and published in the Law Review. He is the founding partner of Butler Kahn law firm. Connect with me on LinkedIn