Car Accidents Settlement Attorneys from Schmeg.com

   

Of Accidents and Lawyers -

On June 8, 1996, I experienced an accident that significantly altered the course of my life. From the perspective of today, it seems like a very minor accident. However, the story of this particular incident may be worth putting into writing because the experience has taught me some important lessons that may be of value to others.

It was a typical summer day in Corpus Christi, Texas- hot, mostly sunny, moderately humid, and wind blowing from the southeast at 10-15 miles per hour. I was riding my bicycle from my house to a local supermarket, where I had intended to buy a bottle of chili sauce. In an effort to avoid the fairly heavy afternoon traffic on Staples Street, I was riding on the sidewalk. On my left, I was passing through several blocks of a residential neighborhood. When I was about halfway to my destination, I could see that the rather nondescript rows of houses suddenly stopped and opened up into a combination country club and golf course, complete with an automatic gate and a long, wide driveway that had been neatly paved with coral colored bricks. When I was about a hundred feet away from the driveway that allowed entrance into the golf course, a black minivan emerged from behind a tree that had partially obscured my view on the left side. When I was about ten feet away from the intersection of the sidewalk and the driveway, the van had slowed down and come to a stop just in front of the sidewalk. I slowed down as well, and briefly looked up at the van in an attempt to make eye contact with the driver. Because the van's windows and windshield had been tinted a very dark gray, I could only see a silhouette of the driver's head. I could not detect enough facial detail to determine whether or not the driver had noticed my approach. Nevertheless, seeing that the van had actually stopped, I increased my speed somewhat and proceeded across the intersection.

Just as I crossed the van's path, however, the vehicle unexpectedly began to speed up again. In the split second of time that remained, I knew without a doubt that I had neither the time nor the distance to avoid the impending collision. A wave of primal fear rippled through my body, beginning near the back of my knees and traveling upward through my spine. By the time it reached the lower part of my brain, I had just managed to lean the bicycle to the right, away from the van, and my hands had just begun to let go of the handlebars. The front bumper of the van struck the front wheel of the bicycle, along with a small portion of the bicycle's frame on the left side. My eyeglasses were immediately separated from my face, landing in a patch of grass on the side of the driveway. Meanwhile, as I was flying through the air, I managed to bring my body into something resembling a fetal position, tucking my head forward toward my chest, moving my arms inward toward the ribs, and folding my legs upward, so that my thighs were nearly touching my stomach. After traveling a distance of about twenty feet, I landed squarely on the middle part of my back. Upon feeling the impact of the landing, I released my arms and legs, stretching them out flat along the driveway, but still keeping my head bent slightly forward. Feeling no pain, I looked down at my body and realized that I had escaped injury, with the possible exception of a small scrape on my back. I sat up on the driveway, and as I did so, I looked to the right, and immediately recognized and recovered my glasses. Amazingly, they appeared to be completely undamaged. My bicycle was not so fortunate, however. The front wheel rim had been bent into an elongated S shape, and it was immediately obvious that I was not going to be able to ride the bike, at least not until the wheel could be repaired.

I had just started to get up from the driveway when I heard a male voice beckoning me from behind, "Whoa, I think you had better lay back down there. We need to be sure that you're OK". I did lie down, but not more than a minute had passed when both an ambulance and a police car arrived on the scene, seemingly out of nowhere. At this point, I was allowed to get up, and the police began to question the driver of the van, who explained to them what had happened. Meanwhile, the driver of the ambulance briefly examined me, determined that I had not been injured, and had me sign a release form stating that I did not require treatment. After the ambulance left, the police filled out an accident report and gave me a copy. Apparently, neither of the parties involved in the accident were ticketed or judged to be at fault, although the police did explain to me that, legally speaking, bicycle riders were supposed to ride on the street instead of the sidewalk, and were supposed to stay as far to the right as possible while still remaining on the road.

After the police left the scene, the driver of the van introduced himself to me and apologized for the accident. He insisted that he take me back home, and since my bicycle was in no shape to ride, I agreed. The man was surprisingly cordial and professional, and when we arrived at my house, he explained that he was actually an attorney and gave me his business card. He offered to pay for the bicycle and asked me to call him if there was anything that he could do to help. I thanked him, unloaded the bicycle from the van, and returned home.

Later that day, my mother noticed the damage to the bicycle. When she asked me about it, I explained the whole incident to her, and showed her the accident report and the business card. At this point, she consulted my uncle (who, interestingly enough, happened to be an attorney), and he suggested that the attorney who had struck me could draft a release form that would grant him immunity from any further claims or liabilities resulting from the accident. In exchange, I would receive a monetary settlement of $500.

The next day, my mother telephoned him with this suggestion, and the attorney readily agreed. On the day after that, my mother drove me downtown, and we found the office building where the attorney worked as a partner in a law firm with three other members. When I found the attorney's office, he showed me the release form that he had prepared, which was about five pages long and contained a considerable amount of legalese, most of which I actually understood. The only real purpose of the document was to protect the attorney from any future claims against him that could be made as a result of the accident. However, the $500 that I was receiving in exchange for the release seemed like a considerable sum of money at the time, especially considering the fact that I had not really been injured, and the only real damage that I had suffered in the accident was the damage to the bicycle, which was really not worth that much money. Meanwhile, the attorney seemed to think that he was getting the better end of the bargain. As I was signing the release papers, he remarked, "We really appreciate that you are willing to settle this case for us." He then handed me the check, and with a final handshake, we parted company.

In the days following this incident, I had a chance to reflect upon these events and realized that I had learned some valuable lessons. Some of these lessons were purely practical. For example, I learned that it is a good idea to know how to fall if one is thrown from a vehicle as the result of a collision. In particular, the fact that I was able to keep my head tucked forward saved it from being smashed against the concrete, which easily could have resulted in a serious concussion or possible brain damage. Instead, I was able to control my fall somewhat, so that I was able to absorb its impact on a part of the body that is not as susceptible to permanent damage.

There were also lessons to be learned about dealing with other people. It is usually beneficial, even in situations where one experiences an unfortunate event, to remain calm and rational, such that the emotions of the moment are not allowed to interfere with one's better judgment. Many people who are involved in accidents are all too eager to immediately blame the other party, regardless of the actual facts of the case. This often results in acrimonious and unnecessary lawsuits, many of which end up causing an undue amount of stress for both the litigants and the taxpayers.

In this particular case, the fact that the other party was an attorney also provided a lesson in the importance of not always relying on popular generalizations or stereotypes. Lawyers are often singled out by many elements of society for being greedy, exploitative, and generally corrupt. In this case, however, I seem to have encountered one who was genuinely fair and honest. It is good to know that there are some attorneys who actually seem to honor their claims of seeking fair settlements for accident victims, even if such people are not necessarily their clients.