Big personal injury firms like to talk about their big wins. We’ve certainly had many of our own over the years—more than 50 of our personal injury cases have made it to at least seven figures.
But not every lawsuit is a million-dollar winner. At Crosley Law, our average personal injury case settles for around $250,000. And nationwide, more than half of personal injury claimants receive less than $10,000 for their claim, according to a 2020 Martindale-Nolo survey.
RELATED POST: What are some typical car accident injury settlement amounts in Texas? | Crosley Law
So, what separates a million-dollar personal injury settlement from a five- or six-figure one? In this blog post, we’ll talk through a few examples of some of our recent settlements and trial wins. Then, we’ll discuss the key factors that are common to almost every million-dollar case.
A brief list of recent Crosley Law million-dollar wins
Here is a partial selection of notable million-dollar cases our firm has settled or won in court within the last four years. These are not the only seven-figure results we’ve achieved in that timeframe, but it should give a good idea of what big cases can look like.
$3.4 Million (truck accident)
Our client, Michael, was stopped in traffic when a heavy-duty pickup truck slammed into the back of his vehicle at more than 30 miles per hour. Michael’s head hit his steering wheel due to the impact force. His injuries included skull fractures, a traumatic brain injury, and compression fractures in his spine.
Crosley Law obtained dash cam footage of the pickup driver. For several seconds before impact, the driver can be seen checking his phone and picking his nose—looking anywhere but the road. By the time he noticed Michael’s stopped vehicle, it was far too late to slow down. His truck’s control module noted that he didn’t touch the brakes until 0.3 seconds before impact.
READ MORE: Crosley Law Wins $3.4 Million for Man Rear-ended by Nose-picking Truck Driver | Crosley Law
$30 Million (premises liability)
Crosley Law represented the family of a young girl who fell through a defective window and suffered a serious brain injury. The windows in her room (as well as many others throughout the apartment complex) had a defect that caused them to open automatically if they were unlatched. The incident occurred shortly after moving in; her parents were unaware of the defect.
During our investigation, we discovered that apartment staff had disregarded their own safety procedures when inspecting the windows. Because they failed to follow these guidelines, a young girl suffered a life-changing injury.
READ MORE: Crosley Law Obtains $30 Million Settlement in Brain Injury Lawsuit | Crosley Law
$4 Million (truck accident)
Our client, Tim, was in traffic on the interstate when an inattentive semi-truck driver smashed into his pickup at about 20 miles per hour. Tim suffered serious, life-changing injuries that required extensive treatment. By the time of his trial, he’d already had neck surgery and a total hip replacement, with at least two future back surgeries recommended by his medical team.
Our investigation uncovered shocking negligence on the part of both the truck driver and the trucking company. The driver had a long history of irresponsible cell phone use while driving his truck, including videos of him dancing and eating while driving that he had posted to social media. Furthermore, when the Department of Transportation inspected the truck after the crash, they declared it out of service due to severely defective brakes. The trucking company had not only neglected to carry out routine maintenance, but even continued to operate the truck for months after it was declared out of service.
READ MORE: Crosley Law Wins $4 Million in Trucking Trial | Crosley Law
$2.5 Million (truck accident wrongful death)
We represented the family of a young man, Daniel, who was killed when he collided with a semi-truck merging onto the highway from the shoulder, at night, at less than 20 miles per hour.
Despite being within the San Antonio city limits, with several safe places to stop within a two-mile radius, the truck driver ignored company safety guidelines and decided to pull onto the shoulder to relieve himself. This reckless and inexplicable decision was compounded when he merged back onto the roadway directly in front of Daniel’s car, more than 50 miles per hour below the speed limit. The insurance company tried to blame the crash on Daniel, but our analysis showed that he had no reason to believe the truck was about to merge at such a slow rate of speed. He had no time to react.
READ MORE: Young Man Killed by Trucker Who Pulled Over to Urinate Gets $2.5 Million | Crosley Law
$1.95 Million (auto accident)
Crosley Law represented a woman, Carla, who was injured in a rear end car accident caused by a distracted driver. The crash resulted in years of life-altering pain in her neck, shoulder, and back. Radiology testing revealed multiple herniated discs. After several less invasive treatment options failed to deliver lasting relief, Carla eventually needed neck surgery.
One thing that made this case unusual: Carla’s pickup truck suffered almost no damage in the crash. The at-fault driver smashed into her truck’s trailer hitch and the truck frame was able to withstand the impact without deforming. However, this did not help Carla. Without a “crumple” to dissipate the impact force, the jolt on Carla’s body was more severe than it would have been otherwise.
READ MORE: Crosley Law Wins $1.95M for Injury Victim With No Vehicle Damage | Crosley Law
Key components of most million-dollar personal injury claims
So, what can we learn from these personal injury settlements and verdicts? Here are a few common factors:
Significant damages
Settlement amounts are, in theory, meant to compensate victims for the specific damages they experience. This includes financial losses like medical bills and lost wages. It also includes more subjective non-economic damages for the physical pain and suffering victims experience. Living with chronic pain, enduring emotional anguish, and losing the ability to enjoy hobbies and recreational activities are all examples of these types of damages.
The vast majority of million-dollar cases, naturally, involve catastrophic injuries and significant medical expenses that permanently alter a person’s life and future.
On the other hand, if someone only sustains (relatively) minor injuries and makes a full recovery within a reasonable timeframe, it’s hard to argue that they suffered a million dollars or more worth of damages—even if the at-fault party engaged in shocking and reckless behavior.
Ability to pay
This is the dirty secret about personal injury settlement amounts.
Even if you successfully file a personal injury lawsuit against an at-fault party, there is a limit to how much you can realistically collect from them. That upper limit depends on how much insurance coverage they have and sometimes whether they have any personal assets to pay you with.
In the worst-case scenario, you’re hurt in a bad car accident and the at-fault driver is uninsured (or only carries minimal insurance coverage) and has no other assets to pay you. In this case, even if you have more than a million dollars’ worth of damages, you won’t get nearly that much from the at-fault party.
In four out of the five examples above, the defendants were companies with large liability insurance policies. Three were trucking companies, while the other was an apartment complex. That will be true for most million-dollar personal injury lawsuits.
The big exception to this rule was the last story—Carla. The driver who hit her was underinsured. Fortunately, Carla had purchased a significant amount of uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage (UM/UIM) from her own insurance company. Without that coverage, she wouldn’t have collected anywhere close to the $1.95 million she ultimately received.
RELATED POST: What’s an Underinsured Motorist, and How Can I Protect Myself? | Crosley Law
Aggravating facts
The first two items above—significant damages and ability to pay—are necessary conditions for million-dollar claims. But if a case is close, aggravating facts can put it over the edge.
What is an aggravating fact? Basically, if the case involves any facts that would be upsetting or angering to a potential jury, the insurance company is likely to offer a higher settlement amount.
Why does this matter? It comes down to human nature. In theory, a jury is supposed to weigh the evidence, determine whether the defendant was at fault, and impartially calculate damages. It shouldn’t matter whether the at-fault party is a tired mom who made a simple mistake or a trucking company that routinely ignores federal regulations and pressures drivers to skip rest breaks.
But in the real world, it does matter. Damages are subjective. Personal injury cases that go to trial are worth whatever juries think they’re worth. If the jury is disgusted by the actions of the at-fault party, they are likely to award more in damages. If they see the at-fault party as someone who made an unfortunate mistake at the wrong time, they’re likely to award less.
Several of the example cases above feature devastating “tick off” moments:
- The trucking company that completely disregarded brake maintenance
- Reckless, distracted driving caught on video
- A defendant lying about his cell phone use
- Flagrant disregard of company policies and safety procedures
- Video evidence of unlatched windows opening on their own
An experienced personal injury attorney
Insurance companies don’t like losing money. They will fight to keep payouts as low as possible. That’s especially true if they know that your case has the potential to cost them a million dollars or more.
Million-dollar cases are rarely straightforward. At Crosley Law, our big cases usually require a lot of hard work and involvement from our legal team. For example:
- Collecting and reading through thousands of pages of evidence, including federal and state regulations, company policies, company records, and medical records.
- Collecting physical evidence (like surveillance video, dash cameras, and vehicle black boxes) and working with expert witnesses (such as traffic reconstruction experts) to piece together what really happened.
- Conducting detailed interviews (under oath) of eyewitnesses, family members, company representatives—anyone who can help us prove negligence and damages. It isn’t uncommon for us to take dozens of depositions for our biggest cases.
- Thoroughly preparing cases for trial, using focus groups and mock juries to fine-tune our arguments.
If you have a potential million-dollar claim, you should make sure your attorney has the experience and skill to handle it. Don’t be afraid to ask any potential attorney about their biggest personal injury verdicts and settlements, and their track record in handling cases like yours (truck collision, brain injury, etc.).
Car Crash? Call Crosley
If you’ve been seriously hurt (or lost a loved one) and need help, call Crosley Law. Our personal injury attorneys are laser-focused on getting our clients the best possible results—not just financially, but physically and emotionally, too. To request your free case review, just dial (210) 529-3000 today.
The content provided here is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice on any subject.
