Our client was badly hurt in a car accident during a rainstorm on his way to work. He needed several surgeries on his leg and was left with growing medical bills. While he qualified for workers’ compensation because the accident occurred on the way to a job, the workers’ comp carrier tried to delay treatments and push our client back to work before he was medically ready. That’s where the Farah & Farah dream team of Personal Injury and Workers’ Compensation attorneys stepped in to help.
We sat down with Personal Injury Attorney Frank Fratello and Workers’ Compensation Attorney Chris Puleo to discuss how their different teams were able to work together to secure $3 million for this very deserving client.
A Commute to Work Turns Into a Nightmare
When our client accepted a rush job for work, he never expected that his life would be changed in an instant. It was a rainy day, and the driver of a red Toyota hydroplaned when coming around a curve on the highway. The Toyota hit a Malibu, which then crossed the median and crashed into our client’s truck head-on, an accident that shattered every single bone in our client’s left leg and fractured several vertebrae in his back, leaving him hospitalized and in chronic pain.
Determining Which Driver Was Liable for the Accident
Because the crash involved several drivers, the defense tried to blame the Malibu driver. They argued that the Toyota driver only hydroplaned, so it was just an accident and not his fault. The Malibu driver, on the other hand, had sped up instead of braking after being side-swiped by the Toyota. The defense also tried to blame our client because he had been on the phone at the time of the crash.
Proving Our Client’s Lack of Fault
Despite our client having been on the phone when the accident occurred, he was found to be 0% liable for the crash. “He was on the phone, but he wasn’t holding the phone,” Frank Fratello clarified. “Our client had a coworker who was a passenger when the crash happened, and he was the one holding the phone while it was on speaker. There was no way he’d let our client drive while on the phone.” This turned the cell phone into the equivalent of a hands-free Bluetooth device, which eliminated our client’s liability in the case.
A Perfect Storm: Bald Tires and Poor Weather Conditions
While the Malibu driver was considered 20% liable for the accident because he failed to brake, the bulk of the liability fell on the driver of the Toyota, whose hydroplaning caused him to sideswipe the Malibu in the first place. The defense tried to claim that the hydroplaning was due to poor weather conditions and that the driver shouldn’t be held responsible for the accident.
“The first responders measured the tread depth on all the tires,” explained Frank. “We all know what a bald tire looks like. And while these fell within Florida’s legal limit, the manufacturer of those tires recommended replacement at 2/32 because it’s not safe in the rain any lower than that. These tires were at 1/32.”
The road may have been slick because of the rain, but that wasn’t what caused the accident. The Toyota driver was actually driving under the speed limit at the time he began hydroplaning, but plenty of other cars, including the Malibu, went around that same curve at a faster speed without losing control. It was clear to us, and to the jury, that the bald tires the Toyota driver failed to replace were the cause.
Delayed Treatments and a Push To Return to Work Early
Because our client was on his way to a rush job for work at the time of the accident, it wasn’t just a personal injury case; it was also a workers’ compensation case. However, the workers’ compensation doctor tried to delay his treatments and push him back to work at a distant location before he was medically ready to do so. You don’t really need a workers’ compensation attorney unless workers’ comp isn’t doing what it’s supposed to, and unfortunately, that was the case with our client.
The Farah Effect: Working Together for Our Client’s Benefit
This case came to us as a personal injury case, but it quickly became clear that it was much more complex than that and that Frank Fratello, the personal injury attorney who took this case, needed expertise from other practice areas. This was actually a three-pronged case: personal injury, workers’ compensation, and uninsured motorist insurance. Frank brought in other Farah & Farah attorneys whose experience and knowledge would help maximize the recovery for our client.
“It’s harder to share information and resources between firms,” shared Chris Puleo. “With a complex case like this, we recommend hiring a firm with both personal injury and workers’ comp attorneys in-house.” A law firm with just one of those areas of law would have had to refer the case to another firm. We were able to maximize recovery because we can refer cases in-house and keep everything under the same firm.
Let All Law Work to Your Advantage
If you’ve been in a car accident or injured on the job, don’t hesitate to contact us for a free consultation. We’re here to support you every step of the way and use every resource at our disposal to achieve the maximum result for you that we can.
When Farah & Farah attorneys work together, “we’re more than the sum of our parts,” says Frank Fratello. Choosing Farah & Farah to represent you allows us to make sure “all of the law works to your advantage,” and gets you the very best recovery.
