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Client Felt “Empowered” After Hiring Us¹

Noell A. is a tough cookie. When she makes up her mind to do something, don’t get in her way. When she had decided she had put on too much weight and wanted to get off several medications as a result of the extra pounds, she began a faithful walking routine. Once she shed the pounds and got off those meds, she was determined nothing was going to keep her from that daily routine. Winter, summer, didn’t matter. Noell would be out walking the same route every day after work.

Until she was hit by a truck. Driven by a twenty-something driver – who was texting to boot!

Noell was severely injured. Even so, she was determined to do everything she could to heal so that she could get back to her walking routine as soon as possible. Nothing was going to stop her. Nothing.

Until she tried to get the truck driver’s insurance company to pay for her medical bills.

Here is how we helped Noell fight for the compensation she was clearly entitled to – despite the bullying tactics of the insurance company.

Life Before the Texting Truck Driver

Noell and her husband of 43 years live in a quaint North Carolina town. She has worked for the same company for 30 years. The couple enjoys what Noell refers to as a “quite life” – even with four grandchildren.

Noell said she used to be “heavy” and that she was on certain medications as a consequence of the extra pounds. One day she simply made up her mind to start exercising and lose weight so she could be healthier, thinner, and get off the medications.

“I try to walk every day – 30-40 minutes. …Even when it’s cold, when it’s extremely hot, I still get out and I walk every day. I’ve lost the weight and I do not intend to put it back on,” Noell declared. “…I started…exercising every day, that was in August, and October is when the truck hit me.”

Noell said she came home from work like she did every day, changed into her walking clothes and began her usual route. Without warning, she felt something on the back of her leg.

“I… felt something at the back of my leg. I thought, ‘What?’ I went out. I saw a bright light, and I was out. I came back to almost immediately and I was in the air. I got hit so hard that he sent me flying into the middle of the lady’s yard. I landed on an anthill, getting eaten alive by ants.”

Noell was conscious but unable to move. She was rushed by ambulance to the hospital, checked out with “all kinds of tests.” Eventually they gave her painkillers and sent her home.

As often happens with car accident injuries, Noell’s additional pain and injuries did not manifest themselves until days after the adrenalin and pain killers had begun to wear off. As days turned into weeks, Noell continued to be in severe pain, despite painkillers, and she returned several times to the hospital. Finally, after going back and forth, additional tests determined that Noell had broken her wrist and elbow. Yet by this time, nerve damage to her leg had also set in.

“Not Going to Let Anything Stop Me”

“I was bruised from head to toe. Completely swollen. …I just knew that from my hand all the way up, I was aching. I took the painkiller, it would help for just a little while, and then it would come right back. For two weeks I…cried, going back and forth to the hospital because I didn’t know what was wrong. … My husband was scared to death that I was getting hooked on painkillers because that’s all they did, they gave me painkillers. …The final time when I went back to the hospital, they took more X-rays and found out that my wrist and my elbow were broken and I got put in a cast, up to my shoulder.”

With her arm stabilized in a cast, Noell felt confident enough to hit the road walking again.

“I’m stubborn, I’m not going to let anything stop me. …when I was walking, my leg was collapsing…. Went back to the doctor, they did some tests and there was nerve damage, so they put me on something to stop the progression of the nerve damage, and it did. …Yet today, if I’m walking on an uneven pavement or the side of the road, I may stumble. It almost looks like I’m drunk because it’s the nerve damage in that leg, but I still walk. I’m not going to let it stop me.”

Recovering Was Hard

Although Noell was a very determined lady, recovery was hard for her. She was out of work for two months. She could only sleep sitting up, and had significant trouble showering and dressing. Yet she was determined to forge ahead.

“I managed. …I was not going to let it stop me. I didn’t even ask my husband for help. …I kept right on walking. It was difficult, it was hard, I’d stumble, but you can’t let things like that stop you. You’ve got to keep right on pushing. I didn’t go through everything I went through to stop losing weight. I was determined I was going to lose weight. My main goal in the whole thing was to get off insulin, [and] …blood pressure [and] cholesterol medicine. I’m off.”

Dealing With the Insurance Company Was Harder

Noell was like many clients who quickly realize they may be fighting a losing battle when trying to deal with the insurance company on their own.

She had assumed that since the driver of the truck was at fault, the driver’s insurance company would simply cut her a check for her injuries, pain and suffering, time off work, with a cherry on top.

And also like many of our clients, she got a rude awakening when the insurance company tried to pin some of the fault on Noell. Because North Carolina is what is known as a contributory negligence state, if the injured victim is considered even 1% at fault in North Carolina, the insurance company could potentially get off Scott free without having to compensate the victim one penny.

Insurance “High Pressure” and “Bullying” Tactics

“The day after I came home from the hospital, I got called by the adjuster for [the at-fault driver’s] insurance company. The first thing that he said to me was that we’ll pay you a little bit for pain and suffering if it’s a viable claim. …He started pushing really hard and I [said], ‘Whoa, wait a minute. I didn’t hit him. He hit me.’ And he said, ‘In the state of North Carolina…if you’re even 1% at fault…they do not have to pay, they do not have to take care of your medical bills or anything.” …I said, ‘That’s it. I’m done.’…I needed to protect myself….I called James Scott Farrin, and they took care of me right [from the] start…the first thing out of their mouth [was], ‘We’ll take care of it from here. If the insurance company calls you, direct them our way.’ That’s exactly what I did.”

“I think that the insurance company for the at-fault was not only bullying, they used super high pressure tactics. The second time they called me, after I had talked to James Scott Farrin, I said, ‘Well, I’ve contacted a lawyer.’ [They said,] ‘You don’t need a lawyer, we can handle it from here.’ I said, ‘Oh no we won’t. …You contact him from now on. Do not call me again.’ I knew at that point…it was all about protecting themselves, not taking care of me.”

“Super Easy for Me”

Noell had seen the James Scott Farrin HurtLine TV ads. After the accident she received a personalized package in the mail from our firm introducing ourselves, offering a bit about our 20-year history, and successes in dealing with insurance companies as personal injury advocates. She was intrigued and called us.

That first phone call, Noell said, “decided it for me immediately.”

“The people that I got on the phone were super, super nice, and that decided it for me immediately. …I got on the phone and during the weekend somebody answered the phone. …I was really surprised. I mean a law office, they shouldn’t be at work on a weekend, but they were. …They came out to my house and they made it super, super easy for me.”

Noell was going through a lot of pain and suffering. One of the things we try to do is take care of everything else, so the client can focus on healing and get back to their daily routine.

“…[James Scott Farrin] got every detail from the hospital that they could get. I never had to deal with [the] insurance company again, that made it easy. When I got excited they calmed me down. …It was painless. All the pain I was going through and they made it painless.”

“Professionalism, People, Service”

“I would not hesitate to recommend James Scott Farrin to anybody, ever. …what I liked about [the firm] was the professionalism, the people, and the service that I got. Everything was almost geared to me.

They answered all the questions, they took care of me as a person. They were concerned about my injuries, they were concerned about the pain that I was going through. They were concerned about every aspect of my life at that point and it made it…manageable.”

Noell Felt “Empowered”

“…hiring James Scott Farrin…it empowers you. I was a victim that the insurance company could have easily taken advantage of…but I learned how strong I was. …I did need a champion, and I got [one] in James Scott Farrin.”