A dangerously drunk driver sped down a Georgia street in his company’s Ford F150. It was two o’clock in the morning. Red lights ahead were beaming, but he burst into an intersection at 70 miles per hour and crashed into the driver’s side of a woman’s SUV. Miraculously, she survived, but she suffered life-changing injuries. Firefighters used heavy machinery to cut through the crumpled metal and free her. Using an accident reconstruction and an animation outlining her damages in his demand package, Darl Champion of The Champion Firm, P.C. attained a $10,200,000 settlement.
The woman was comatose as first responders rushed her to the ICU. Her family called on their attorney, Darl Champion, shaken by their daughter’s grave condition. Darl obtained the traffic collision report and discovered the drunk driver’s blood-alcohol level was more than double the legal limit. He found multiple witnesses who saw the man speeding and watched the crash occur. Finally, he retained an accident reconstructionist who examined the man’s event data recorder, revealing he was so impaired that he did not brake before impact.
Darl also uncovered that the drunk driver was in a company vehicle. He located the man’s employer and confirmed he was covered under his company’s comprehensive insurance policy. Darl knew he needed to set the pace from the get-go, in his demand package. To show the Defendant’s gross negligence and the gravity of his client’s damages, Darl reinforced his demand package with litigation visuals. It would persuade the adjuster and Defense to settle the case before a jury could award a higher verdict. He shared the woman’s medical records, lifecare plans, and expert testimony with DK Global to animate the crash and illustrate her injuries.
The final animation Darl sent to the insurance carrier began with an accident reconstruction using information taken from the Defendant's black box. First, the Plaintiff left the restaurant and waited to turn left into the intersection. As she began her left turn, the Defendant barreled into the junction and t-boned her. Next, the animation replayed and followed the Defendant’s truck speeding down the street, failing to slow for the bright red lights ahead. After the Plaintiff’s car stopped, an overview of her gruesome injuries was shown: her deep lacerations, spinal injuries, and orthopedic fractures were displayed next to her enhanced medical imagery to better picture their location. Finally, the woman’s surgical procedures, including her left tibia repair and exploratory laparotomy, were illustrated to depict her painful and arduous recovery.
Darl reinforced his demand package with the animation and prepared for mediation. After seeing the crash's brutality and the woman’s catastrophic injuries, the Defense agreed to settle the matter for $10,200,000.
Darl Champion of The Champion Firm, P.C., has served as a personal injury advocate in Georgia for over a decade, valuing aggressive and compassionate client-centered representation. The National Trial Lawyers has selected Darl as one of the “Top 100 Trial Lawyers in Georgia” and “Top 40 Under 40”. Additionally, Darl is a Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum member and has been recognized as a “Georgia Super Lawyer Rising Star” since 2012.
