Morris Haynes Attorneys at Law is one of Alabama’s most trusted personal injury law firms due to our long history of incredible case results for our clients. We are excited to announce that we are strongly continuing that tradition in 2022.
Only halfway into the year, we have already successfully tried six cases and reached impressive settlements in multiple other claims in counties all over Alabama. In total, the six trials resulted in more than $5,125,000 in verdict awards, and the settlement total has reached nearly $6,000,000. Overall, we have won approximately $11 million on behalf of our clients, and we aren’t even out of the summer season yet.
No matter where in Alabama you call home, Morris Haynes has you covered. Call (205) 973-6915 now if you need help with a personal injury case of any type.
Underinsured Motorist Claims Against Progressive
To underscore our accomplishments so far this year, we wanted to take a closer look at a few of the most challenging and impactful cases we have handled, starting with the underinsured car accident case that we accepted on behalf of Shannon Graham.
On December 4th, 2018, Shannon Graham was injured in a car crash when an inattentive driver tried to shoot the gap from the median across a busy stretch of U.S. Highway 431. The driver slammed into Shannon’s driver’s side door so violently that the impact ripped Shannon’s door off the hinges, fractured his shoulder in three places, required multiple surgeries, and required three plates and sixteen screws.
The careless driver who caused the crash did not have enough insurance to cover Shannon’s medical bills and damages, so he made a claim with his own insurance company, Progressive Direct Insurance Company. Before the crash, Shannon had purchased underinsured motorist insurance from Progressive. Many drivers in Alabama have this insurance as it is designed to protect and cover you if another driver causes a crash and injures you. Progressive refused to pay the full value of Shannon’s claim and offered pennies on the dollar instead of his full measure of damages. This was the exact reason Shannon purchased the insurance from Progressive and paid the company premiums in the first place.
During the week of June 7th, 2022, Shannon tried his case against Progressive before an Etowah County jury while represented by Morris Haynes partners and trial lawyers, Todd Wheeles and Matt Garmon. On June 9th, the jury returned a verdict for Shannon Graham and against Progressive Direct Insurance Company for $750,000.
This was the second such underinsured motorist verdict that Attorneys Todd Wheeles and Matt Garmon have had against Progressive in the last month. On May 5th, 2022, another Etowah County jury returned a verdict for Denise Bowen and against Progressive for $400,000 in a similar case. It is our hope that these verdicts will help to send a message to Progressive and other insurance companies that in Alabama, people expect to be treated fairly by insurance companies and they expect to get what they pay for.
VFW Charity Embezzlement
Morris Haynes attorneys George Beck and Clay Hornsby knew they needed to fight for justice when they discovered that more than $1.7 million was being embezzled from the charity Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW). To raise money for our veterans, the VFW of Alabama raised funds by installing electronic bingo machines in various VFW halls. VFW’s personal officer as well as its outside accounting firm diverted nearly $2 million from these machines for personal gain.
Veterans of Foreign Wars filed a civil lawsuit for breach of contract, fraud, and conversion in order to recover the funds in dispute. After years of delay, Attorneys Beck and Hornsby were able to finally bring the case to trial before Judge Jimmy Pool in Montgomery on May 31st, 2022. Following a four-day trial, the jury returned a verdict of $1,786,386 in compensatory damages for the stolen funds as well as $2 million in punitive damages, bringing the total verdict to $3,782,368. Morris Haynes is proud of attorneys George Beck and Clay Hornsby and their determination to preserve justice for our veterans.
Second Cervical Spine Surgery Dispute
Denise was hit nearly head-on in a crash on October 7th, 2017. She had to undergo two separate cervical spine surgeries and it took 28 months to recover, but her insurance only admitted that the first surgery was related. The jury found for the Plaintiff and awarded $400,000.
Distracted Driver Rear-End Collision
Morris Haynes partner Matt Garmon and associate Luke Trammell obtained a $150,000 verdict for our client after a trial in Bessemer, Alabama. Our client was stopped at a red light when she was rear-ended by the defendant driver who was distracted by her cell phone. The defendant driver’s cell phone records showed that she was on the phone at the time of impact which caused our client to sustain significant neck injuries.
Allstate, the defendant driver’s insurance company, only offered $30,000 on the eve of trial, which did not cover our client’s medical bills, treatment, and likely future surgery. The $150,000 verdict represents the fair value of the harm and injuries sustained by our client.
Thank you for celebrating the first half of 2022 with our team of Morris Haynes. To learn more about our victories, you can browse our case results and visit our blog often for more exciting updates. If you need a personal injury attorney after an accident anywhere in Alabama, then you should contact us online now.
