For more than 40 years, Murphy & Prachthauser has held a long-standing, trusted reputation in seeking justice for persons injured by the negligence of others. We take great pride in having top lawyers who are focused on helping our Milwaukee personal injury clients achieve the best results so accident victims can continue to recover and thrive in the most productive ways. Attorney Michelle Hockers brings that support during a time of uncertainty and turmoil for most clients.
In 2018, Hockers fought for fair results and led several trials for clients who were injured in motor vehicle accidents. The results she had in just one year are rare for anybody practicing law; she did an exceptional job proving her expertise in the field and setting herself up for a bright future representing injured parties. Here is a brief review of the promising young attorney’s top trials won in 2018.
1. Plaintiffs v. State Farm
This case was referred to Murphy & Prachthauser by a former client and involved a collision between a motor vehicle operator who made an illegal left turn and another driver, an all too common car accident cause. Since our client had the right of way, State Farm agreed the collision was the fault of the left turn driver. However, State Farm did question the injuries and damages our client suffered and presented a “gap in treatment” argument. Our team helped our client move his case to a jury trial and set forth a claim to cover medical bills, wage loss, and pain and suffering by providing evidence and presenting testimony from the plaintiff’s doctor of the injuries caused by the crash.
“The easy thing to do when there are some difficult facts to overcome would be to recommend a settlement,” says Hockers. “We don’t operate that way. In order to do what is best for our clients, we have to be ready, willing, and able to try the cases and that is what we did here.”
Hockers assisted Attorney Mark Baus with this trial, which ultimately led a jury to award $175,000 to our client. Their team approach provided the extra time for each attorney to address the unexpected legal issues that often come up when deciding to settle or move a case to trial.
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2. Plaintiff v. Allstate
An injured woman came to Murphy & Prachthauser after learning about our firm on both the television and on the Internet and learning of our southside Milwaukee office location. This client was involved in a motor vehicle collision in which a driver ran a red light and drove directly into her path, causing our client to sustain a neck injury and upper back strain. Her medical bills and wage loss from the accident totaled more than $17,000 and her doctor provided the medical opinion that although these were soft tissue injuries, they would be permanent.
We helped take her case to trial after Allstate presented an offensive offer to settle her claim. A jury helped determine the cause of injury and damages for our client.
Attorney Hockers helped prepare the client and support her through this time by collecting the necessary evidence and not backing down in her charge to take on the insurance company. Hockers was willing to lead the car accident injury case through a successful trial and earned a fair jury award of over $52,000 for her client.
3. Plaintiff v. Integrity Property and Casualty Ins. Co.
Darrow & Dietrich, a law firm in Sheboygan, sent a motor vehicle collision client to Hockers after he was injured in a T-bone traffic collision involving an at-fault elderly driver. Before trial, he had been presented with a $50,000 settlement offer by the defense for a shoulder injury caused by the accident.
Unfortunately, as with most settlement offers, our client’s medical bills, and wage loss totaled near that amount but pain and suffering, and ongoing rehabilitation related costs were not considered.
Attorney Hockers solely tried the case against two defense lawyers and successfully convinced the jury her client was not at fault and was deserving of injury compensation. Her client was awarded $98,000 in damages for past medical expenses and wage loss, plus pain and suffering.
Hockers says, “I owe my sincere gratitude to this particular client for putting his trust in me to present his case. This trial outcome meant his entire life and I treated it that way the entire time, knowing together we could achieve a worthy jury award.”
Congratulations to Attorney Michelle Hockers for her successful year trying and winning cases on behalf of Murphy & Prachthauser clients.
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At Murphy & Prachthauser we practice personal injury law the way it should be practiced – motivated and equipped to do our best for you. We take pride in being good lawyers who help people. If you have a case you would like to speak to Attorney Michelle Hockers about, please contact us to schedule a free case evaluation and consultation and get an experienced team of lawyers working on your behalf.