Uninsured Motorist (UM) Rear-End Crash

On May 30, 2023, our client was driving on the Long Island Expressway in New York when another driver rear-ended his vehicle at highway speed. The impact was forceful -- it propelled his car forward and jammed his right arm into the steering wheel. He went to a New York hospital that same day. The at-fault driver was uninsured. Our client held an automobile insurance policy with a Florida carrier that included uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM) coverage. That policy became the vehicle for recovery.MRI imaging revealed multiple cervical disc herniations at C4-C5, C5-C6, C6-C7, and C7-T1, lumbar pathology at L5-S1, and significant right shoulder damage. Physical therapy provided only temporary relief. Pain management followed, with seven separate injection procedures over more than a year.When conservative treatment failed, our client underwent anterior cervical decompression and fusion at C4-C6 on June 27, 2024. He had already undergone right shoulder surgery on December 21, 2023 -- synovectomy, labral excision, rotator cuff repair, and subacromial decompression. Total medical bills exceeded $374,000. The case was filed in Miami-Dade County against the Florida carrier under the UM policy. It settled for $500,000 -- full policy limits.

We identified the right coverage and filed in the right place. When the at-fault driver is uninsured, the path to recovery runs through your own policy. Our client held a Florida UM policy. We filed in Miami-Dade and kept maximum pressure on the carrier through litigation.We built a complete surgical record. Two surgeries -- cervical fusion and shoulder repair -- with imaging, operative reports, and post-operative diagnoses backing every claim. More than $374,000 in documented medical bills. Seven injection procedures before surgery was deemed necessary.We connected New York treatment to a Florida claim. The crash happened in New York. The treating physicians were in New York and New Jersey. The insurance policy and the lawsuit were in Florida. We managed that cross-jurisdictional picture seamlessly.