Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner Client Receives $900K Verdict After Insurance Company Makes Initial Offer of $15K

Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner, Attorneys for the Injured, is dedicated to fighting for full and fair restitution on behalf of every client. The firm recently helped a Clewiston woman and her husband obtain a $900,130 verdict in their favor after her insurance company, Geico, proposed a settlement of only $15,000 for injuries and damages caused by an underinsured motorist.

Kari Maynor sustained serious shoulder, wrist, neck and back injuries on Oct. 2, 2014, when the driver of an SUV pulled out in front of her and crashed into the mid-size car she was driving east on Sugarland Highway in Clewiston. The wreck led to permanent injuries, surgeries, repeated therapies and the loss of one of her jobs.

“The compensation should equal the loss,” trial attorney P.J. Scheiner said. “This wreck had a profound effect on Kari’s life, and the verdict reflects that.”

After the crash, and because of her injuries, Maynor was unable to perform at the same level in her primary job as the owner of Maynor Lawn Care. She was the sole provider for her family because her husband is disabled, and the worry that they might lose their family home led to a medical diagnosis of depression and anxiety for her.

“Kari was under a lot of pressure to perform,” Scheiner said. “It’s hard enough to run a family lawn care business – the stress on Kari to run the business and support her family while struggling through serious physical injuries caused by the carelessness of someone else was really overwhelming.”

Maynor sought compensation through the underinsured motorist provision in her policy with Geico after the insurance company of the driver who caused the crash made an offer of $50,000 — a figure Maynor knew would be insufficient to cover her lifetime treatment costs. Scheiner, attorney Ben Russell and the rest of the Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner team worked for more than three years following the $15,000 offer from Geico.

“Everyone in business — whether you’re an attorney or an insurance company — has an obligation to do right by their clients,” Scheiner said. “We take that seriously.”