Many times, automobile accidents result in a dispute between the parties arguing who was liable. In this case, the Defendant stopped at a Los Angeles red light before carelessly entering the intersection. She collided with the driver’s side of Mr. Alsina’s Nissan, totaling his car. Initially, he refused ambulatory services and declined to see a doctor. Over the course of two weeks, though, he began experiencing numbness and radiating pain, and he could no longer avoid a hospital visit.
Alsina was examined by a physician who ordered x-rays to be taken of his lower back. The medical imagery revealed Alsina suffered a dislocation of his vertebra that caused a narrowing of his spinal canal. When conservative methods failed to manage his discomfort, Alsina had to undergo a hemilaminotomy and spinal fusion procedure to decompress his nerve roots.
The Defendant initially denied all responsibility for the accident. She told her insurance provider that she had the right-of-way. The Insurance company refused to properly compensate Alsina because of the Defendant’s claim, offering him a mere $7,000.
To fight back against this contest of liability and attain justice, Alsina’s workers’ compensation lawyer referred him to Justin Effres of Effres & Effres. Justin worked passionately, representing Alsina for nearly two years. He conducted a marathon of depositions during discovery and carefully navigated through the obstacles the Defense attempted to throw in his way. The Defense reported several witnesses would back their claim that their policyholder had a green light. After deposing them himself, Justin revealed that these witnesses did not see the incident in its entirety. Then, Justin found what he was searching for: an independent third-party witness who testified the Defendant was responsible for the impact.
Building on his case, Justin recovered the event-data recorder info from the Defendant’s airbag control module. The Defendant’s vehicle indicated she had stopped and then accelerated shortly before the collision, contradicting her claim.
Justin thoroughly prepared for trial and gathered a team of experts who would testify and present his uncovered proof. Justin retained Alsina’s treating physician who performed his spinal fusion surgery.He also asked DK Global to create a cohesive visual presentation linking the Defendant’s airbag module data and the testimonies he attained, for a jury to evaluate.
The DK Global presentation began with a view of the intersection, showing the Defendant stopped at the red light. Then, the animation depicted the Defendant driving forward and colliding with Alsina’s car, based on the information obtained from the Defendant’s vehicle. Next, the witness’s point of view was recreated and objectively portrayed the sequence of events that led to the accident. Finally, Alsina’s lumbar surgery was recreated to illustrate the invasive medical procedures needed to improve his mobility and quality of life.
Justin’s trial was set for early 2020 but was postponed due to nationwide courtroom closures. He included the DK Global visuals in a reinforced demand letter determined to receive fair compensation for his client. The demand letter pressured the Defense to settle the case for $1.5 million – even though the Defendant’s insurance policy limit was only $500,000. Justin warned that the policy was open, and that eventually, jurors would review the exhibits and his evidence and award a verdict much larger than what was requested.
The Defense contacted Justin the day before the policy demand expired and agreed to settle the case for the requested $1.5 Million.
Justin Effres was recently named a Partner at Effres & Effres, and is a “Rising Star” trial lawyer in Southern California with eight years of experience. He was recently recognized by The National Trial Lawyers as one of the “Top 40 Under 40 Civil Plaintiff Lawyers”, due to his role in securing numerous multimillion-dollar settlements. Justin prides himself in delivering justice for his clients whose lives have been affected by catastrophic injuries.
