Wife injured in husband’s fatal crash recovers $10M from insurer

A woman injured in a truck crash that also killed her husband reached a $10 million settlement with the commercial insurer that covered his trucking business, according to her attorneys.

JJ Burns and Josh Becker of Dollar, Burns, Becker & Hershewe in Kansas City represented the 63-year-old Arkansas woman, who was riding as a passenger in her husband’s tractor-trailer in a rural Kansas county in May 2021. The truck suddenly crossed a median before crashing into a pedestrian bridge abutment.

The woman suffered severe orthopedic injuries and a brain injury. Her husband died in the collision.

Her attorneys said they sent a pre-suit settlement offer to the husband’s insurer for the $1 million policy limits, but the insurance company let the offer expire without offering the limits.

After a lawsuit was filed against the husband’s estate, the parties entered into a non-execution agreement and agreed to arbitration. Following the arbitration, the parties mediated the case and reached the $10 million settlement.

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$10 million settlement

Motor Vehicle Collision

Venue: Kansas

Case Number/Date: Confidential/Jan. 31, 2023

Caption: Confidential

Plaintiffs’ Attorneys: JJ Burns and Josh Becker, Dollar, Burns, Becker & Hershewe, Kansas City (for wife); Josh Scott, Hinrichs & Scott, Kansas City (for estate)

Defendants’ Attorneys: Confidential