Facts:
My client was traveling east on East Bay Dr. in Largo on his e-scooter on the sidewalk. As he approached the entrance to Largo Park, a car drove into the crosswalk and his e-scooter crashed into the side of it. As a result of the impact, he tumbled to the ground.
Largo Police responded to the crash and issued a ticket to the driver of the car for careless driving. My client was taken to Morton Plant Hospital due to pain in his wrist, hand, left side, neck, and hip.
The client had actually called our office once before for an unrelated legal issue and remembered us. He called the office from the hospital and I was able to speak to him about the claim.
The Injuries:
He was referred to Alexander Orthopedics for follow-up care. He was given MRIs to his hip, his knee, and his wrist. A fracture to the hamate bone in the wrist/hand was found. He had continued complaints about the wrist.
The Treatment:
He performed physical therapy for the knee and hip, but the wrist was the main problem. He had three steroid injections into the wrist each a month apart. But, it did not give him relief. He was recommended for an arthroscopy of the wrist.
The Insurance Demand:
When we realized that he might have surgery, we were immediately concerned about the bill. We had found that there was a $100,000 insurance policy through Allstate, but there was no PIP available because he was on the e-scooter. We knew that the surgery was going to eat up a lot of the money. We sent out a demand to Allstate for the $100,000. They said that they would not pay it unless he had the surgery.
We discussed the situation with our client and he felt like he needed the surgery. So, he had the surgery.
The Settlement:
Within a week of him having the surgery, Allstate tendered the full $100,000 insurance policy limit. We then went to work getting his bills reduced, the surgery paid for, and money left over for our client.
