Two insurers pay out after three-car crash

A Jefferson County woman injured in a three-car collision in 2017 settled a liability claim with the responsible driver for $150,000.

Lisa Lehman, 51, of Hillsboro, was a front-seat passenger in a 2005 Saturn VUE driven by Jonathan Lehman, her son, when the SUV was hit from behind, a Hillsboro Police Department report shows.

The collision occurred just before 4:15 p.m. on Jan. 5, 2017 on southbound Missouri Highway 21 near its intersection with Eckardt Lane. The SUV, which was waiting to turn left from the highway onto Eckardt Lane, was struck by a 2008 Ford van that in turn was hit from behind by a 2003 Dodge Dakota pickup truck driven by Logan J. Midgett, 26, of Potosi. Midgett told police he didn’t realize beforehand that traffic was stopped.

Plaintiff’s attorney Brandon Jackson of Brown & Crouppen said his client was diagnosed with whiplash, a concussion and later post-concussion syndrome, leading to surgery nine months later to relieve radiating pain on her left side.

A $100,000 settlement with Allstate, Midgett’s insurer, was reached in mid-April. Lehman and her attorney then pursued an additional settlement through her underinsured motorists’ policy with State Farm. An additional $50,000 from State Farm was paid in mid-August, records provided by Jackson show.