Too many Injured, Too Little insurance

In an early morning jaunt last November, a driver under the influence of drugs plowed into a tree and injured his four passengers. In an unusual concurrence, all four sustained the same injury–a fractured hip that required open surgery to repair with plates and screws. Each sustained additional injuries ranging from mild to life altering. The at-fault driver immediately tendered the limits of his policy–$300,000– but who would get what? Dunnion represented one of the young passengers and the other three were ably represented by their own counsel, one of whom had already filed a lawsuit. However, rather than spend all the clients’ resources arguing over a limited source of funds, the Dunnion attorney persuaded all parties to meet with a mediator to see if the proceeds could be fairly apportioned, and got the insurance company to foot the bill for that session. After two hours (instead of two years!)–the case was settled to everyone’s satisfaction, including the Dunnion client who got a considerably larger share than he thought he would be entitled to before the mediation began.