$600,000

KTL secured a $600,000 settlement in this automobile crash that occurred in Long Beach, California. In February 2017, Mr. Kasch was on his way to work driving on 7th Street.  At the same time, the defendant was driving the opposite direction on 7th Street.  Uninvolved witnesses stated they saw the defendant swerving between lanes and speeding before he lost control of his vehicle and careened into oncoming traffic.  The defendant hit Mr. Kasch’s car almost head-on.  The collision between the two cars pushed Mr. Kasch’s vehicle around and his airbags deployed, hitting his chest.  

As a result of the crash, Mr. Kasch suffered from a nerve condition called left long thoracic neuropathy that took years to heal. During this time, Mr. Kasch had difficulties using his left arm and hand for simple tasks and found it difficult to care for his young child.  The defense refused to accept responsibility for the collision, and even claimed that the defendant had been hit by another third vehicle that pushed him into oncoming traffic, even though there was no evidence of any collision to the rear of the defendant’s vehicle in support of this theory.  In addition, during deposition, the main investigating police officer stated that he believed the defendant was lying about this theory and had put in his report that the defendant’s account of the crash was “suspicious”.

Despite the overwhelming evidence from police officers and witnesses that the defendant was at fault, and evidence from doctors that Mr. Kasch suffered a severe injury from the crash, the defense refused to pay the insurance policy limits.  KTL kept the pressure on the defense through litigation after multiple depositions were taken and written discovery was exchanged, sending demand after demand that only increased over time, from $100,000 to $400,000, and finally $600,000.  Finally, the defense caved, and ended up paying six times the policy limits.  This success stands as a reminder to never back down and to always demand the greatest recovery possible for the client.